Short Interest in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Decreases By 16.5%

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,980,000 shares, a decline of 16.5% from the July 31st total of 3,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 29.7% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% in the second quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $212.04. 1,780,493 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,641. The business has a fifty day moving average of $209.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The company has a market capitalization of $85.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $225.00.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

About Waste Management

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.