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

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 11,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $687,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Finally, PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $255,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WM shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $223.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

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.