Waste Management, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.95 (NYSE:WM)

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of 0.945 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, June 18th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th.

Waste Management has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. Waste Management has a payout ratio of 44.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Waste Management to earn $9.17 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 41.2%.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:WM opened at $214.19 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $231.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.67.

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.