Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Increases Dividend to $0.95 Per Share

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.945 per share by the business services provider on Friday, March 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a 14.5% increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83.

Waste Management has raised its dividend payment 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 dividend payout ratio of 38.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Waste Management to earn $8.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.7%.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.2%

Waste Management stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $242.98. The stock had a trading volume of 434,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,276,083. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $226.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $244.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at $52,013,675.48. The trade was a 11.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 84,931 shares of company stock worth $19,834,285 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Stenger Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC now owns 11,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after buying an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Midway Capital Research & Management purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $242,000. S Harris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $344,000. EJMK Ventures LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waste Management

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.