Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) to Issue $0.94 Quarterly Dividend

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.945 per share by the business services provider on Friday, September 25th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th.

Waste Management has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 22 years. Waste Management has a dividend payout ratio of 44.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Waste Management to earn $9.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.78 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.8%.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $226.46 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.80. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $90.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 8.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.89.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.