First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 60,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 644 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 2.4% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 11,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 138,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,870,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $210.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $208.54 and a 200 day moving average of $186.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James increased their target price on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,591 shares in the company, valued at $11,353,349.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares in the company, valued at $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.