Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $109.98 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 545,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,583 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.1% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.14% of Waste Management worth $109,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,686,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,818 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,897,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $803,819,000 after acquiring an additional 25,801 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Waste Management by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,961,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $597,614,000 after acquiring an additional 157,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of WM opened at $229.51 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.81. 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 stock has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.