Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.23 EPS

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE WM traded up $2.22 on Thursday, reaching $212.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,097,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,671,379. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The company has a market capitalization of $85.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management's payout ratio is 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.85.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.