Tara J. Hemmer Sells 4,576 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.1 %

Waste Management stock opened at $224.67 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $187.48 and a one year high of $230.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $212.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.24. The company has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 77.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WM shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

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.