James Fish Jr Sells 30,390 Shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CEO James Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. This represents a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Waste Management Stock Performance

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

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued 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 yield of 1.4%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after buying an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,371,000 after purchasing an additional 117,476 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $1,022,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.