James C. Fish, Jr. Sells 44,405 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $230.59 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $232.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $475,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,018,000. Armis Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,096,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,098,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

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.