Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 1,733 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,693 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,733 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $773,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Waste Management by 15.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 81,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,006,000 after purchasing an additional 10,955 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Waste Management by 300.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 28,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,912,000 after buying an additional 21,370 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.26 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.19. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $91.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.