Insider Selling: Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Sells 5,732 Shares of Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. The trade was a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $228.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. 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 50-day moving average price of $214.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $232.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $475,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $1,018,000. Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,098,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

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.