Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Buys 142 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 18,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2,255.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 1,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $210.90. The company had a trading volume of 186,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,701. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.95 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The company has a market cap of $84.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $208.45 and a 200-day moving average of $208.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.89.

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.