Insider Selling: Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO Sells 209 Shares of Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.8 %

Waste Management stock traded up $3.94 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $224.20. 1,046,698 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,779,665. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.20 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $89.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.97, a P/E/G 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $212.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners grew its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.