Tara J. Hemmer Sells 3,094 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,663 shares in the company, valued at $12,241,066.93. This represents a 5.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded up $3.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $229.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,906,115 shares, 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. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS 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. Investors 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 a positive change 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 payout ratio is 48.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 note on Friday, January 31st. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.