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

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WM. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $1.23 on Friday, hitting $227.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,264,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,188. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $224.57 and a 200-day moving average of $216.56. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.