Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing 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.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $236.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $95.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $231.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 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 trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.