Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Declares $0.75 Quarterly Dividend

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.75 per share by the business services provider on Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th.

Waste Management has increased its dividend by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 21 years. Waste Management has a payout ratio of 37.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Waste Management to earn $7.97 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.6%.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1 %

WM stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $209.03. 148,685 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,719. The company has a market cap of $83.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $209.67 and its 200-day moving average is $208.06. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WM. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC cut their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.