Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) EVP Sells $152,868.87 in Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.8 %

WM traded up $3.94 during trading on Monday, reaching $224.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,046,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,665. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.24. The company has a market cap of $89.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.20 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 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 recently weighed in on WM. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of 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 report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.89.

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.