Insider Selling: Waste Management (NYSE:WM) CEO Sells 5,706 Shares of Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CEO James Fish, Jr. sold 5,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.87, for a total value of $1,317,344.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 220,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,811,485.69. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.1%

WM stock traded up $2.49 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $232.99. 1,169,638 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,231,092. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $220.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.14.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,916,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in Waste Management by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,037,000 after buying an additional 1,034,258 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Waste Management by 218.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after buying an additional 939,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Waste Management by 163.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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 increased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.