Financial Counselors Inc. Purchases 3,031 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 97,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $20,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $202,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Waste Management by 188.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 172,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,741,000 after buying an additional 112,642 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 89.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 47,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,032,000 after acquiring an additional 22,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth $113,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $228.50 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.73 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $91.71 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.94.

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.