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

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $705,772.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 53,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,241,066.93. This represents a 5.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WM opened at $230.55 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a market cap of $92.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter worth $994,000. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 15.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 767,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $159,349,000 after acquiring an additional 105,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.