Donald J. Smith Sells 43 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) VP Donald J. Smith sold 43 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.81, for a total transaction of $10,096.83. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,414,495.44. This represents a 0.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $4.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $226.14. 298,264 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,518,740. The company has a market cap of $90.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. 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 50-day simple moving average of $217.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.49.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.65.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after buying an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.