Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 26,095.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $442,038,000 after buying an additional 1,902,081 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $236.82 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $231.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $95.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The business 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 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.00.

About Waste Management

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.