Waste Management, Inc. (WM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.94 on September 25th

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.945 per share by the business services provider on Friday, September 25th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th.

Waste Management has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 22 years. Waste Management has a dividend payout ratio of 44.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Waste Management to earn $9.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.78 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.8%.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $217.76 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $228.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $87.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group lifted 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 Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.89.

Waste Management Company Profile

WM, Inc, formerly known as Waste Management, Inc, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, helping manage everyday refuse as well as certain specialized waste streams.

Its operations include curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills and waste-related energy services. WM also develops renewable natural gas and electricity projects that capture landfill gas for use as an energy source.