Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO John A. Carroll Sells 1,251 Shares

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $91.57 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $218.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.94. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB increased its position in Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,741,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,450,000 after acquiring an additional 122,696 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $944,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 10.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 217.2% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 10,109 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.