Traders Buy High Volume of Waste Management Call Options (NYSE:WM)

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 8,089 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 104% compared to the typical volume of 3,969 call options.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $300,594,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 26,116.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $163,680,000 after acquiring an additional 910,418 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,955,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Waste Management stock opened at $204.85 on Thursday. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $82.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.09.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.83.

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.