Waste Management (NYSE:WM) SVP Johnson Varkey Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) SVP Johnson Varkey sold 500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.00, for a total transaction of $121,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,713 shares in the company, valued at $2,108,546. This trade represents a 5.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $236.70 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.47 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.64. The company has a market cap of $94.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.38.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.9450 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $275.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $232.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $277.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.04.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,849,981,000 after buying an additional 535,079 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,008,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,013,831,000 after buying an additional 507,209 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,121,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $695,704,000 after buying an additional 35,322 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,320,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $533,340,000 after acquiring an additional 26,847 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,207,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $492,002,000 after acquiring an additional 166,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.