Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,760,000 shares, a drop of 14.9% from the March 31st total of 4,420,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 275,964 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,068,000 after buying an additional 14,229 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 8.8% during the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 213,511 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,548,000 after purchasing an additional 17,276 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 112,059 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 85.7% during the third quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 6,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 102.8% during the third quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,270 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 11,291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of WM traded up $2.00 on Monday, reaching $212.10. 2,048,384 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,675,736. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

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.