Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,583 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 545,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,583 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.1% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $109,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $229.51 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.81. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.