Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Sells $352,886.17 in Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $352,886.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,045,280.07. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.6 %

Waste Management stock traded up $3.55 on Friday, hitting $229.51. 1,906,115 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,524,995. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bannerman Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $310,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $100,000. TFR Capital LLC. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $247,000. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,749 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,169,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WM. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.