Insider Selling: Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO Sells $46,094.95 in Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $224.67 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $90.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.48 and a 52 week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.50.

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.