Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $125.85 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

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

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Eight 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $233.14 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $93.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.95. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.