Devina A. Rankin Sells 5,826 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $224.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $211.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $187.48 and a one year high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $90.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued 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 yield of 1.33%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WM. UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Management

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.