David Reed Sells 75 Shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CFO David Reed sold 75 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.26, for a total value of $18,394.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,495 shares in the company, valued at $2,083,483.70. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of WM opened at $236.30 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $95.31 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.16.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $325,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 8,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Waste Management by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 18,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,218,000 after acquiring an additional 7,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WM. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.