Charles C. Boettcher Sells 693 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $222.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $212.16 and a 200 day moving average of $211.25. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.20 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $89.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 38.88%. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given 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 1.35%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 24,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,919,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 7,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. raised its position in Waste Management by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 1,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 615,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $124,263,000 after purchasing an additional 58,826 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WM. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

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.