Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 2,594 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,099 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,594 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $21,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.9% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 167,027 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,668,000 after purchasing an additional 7,828 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 733,805 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $169,883,000 after acquiring an additional 28,989 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 28.8% in the first quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 259.5% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489 shares during the period. Finally, US Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $209,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $1.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $225.64. The company had a trading volume of 497,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,758. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $251.00.

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.