Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $239.65 and last traded at $239.19, with a volume of 216710 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $237.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.06.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $230.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.78. The stock has a market cap of $97.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $705,772.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,241,066.93. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 87,947 shares of company stock valued at $20,536,508. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 7,739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,562,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,531 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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.