Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Declares $0.75 Quarterly Dividend

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, August 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share by the business services provider on Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th.

Waste Management has increased its dividend by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Waste Management has a dividend payout ratio of 37.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Waste Management to earn $7.97 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.6%.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.20. 759,936 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,680,949. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $209.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00. The firm has a market cap of $83.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.83.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.