Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $230.40 and last traded at $229.59, with a volume of 263643 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $228.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $92.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $213.43 and a 200 day moving average of $213.12.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $859,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $441,000. United Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. American Trust bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $359,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.