Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.23 EPS

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $212.65 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.50. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $85.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

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.