Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,394 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 543,610 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,394 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 1.2% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.14% of Waste Management worth $125,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $231.94. 2,583,457 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,385. The stock has a market cap of $93.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.98, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.04. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.00.

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.