Waste Management, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.75 (NYSE:WM)

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 14th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of 0.75 per share by the business services provider on Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%.

Waste Management has raised its dividend by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Waste Management has a payout ratio of 37.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Waste Management to earn $8.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.4%.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded down $3.96 during trading on Thursday, hitting $221.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,215,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,502. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $211.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.55. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $168.73 and a 1-year high of $226.84. The stock has a market cap of $88.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

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.