Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.92 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $210.90. The company had a trading volume of 186,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,701. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $208.45 and its 200 day moving average is $208.49. The firm has a market capitalization 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. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.95 and a twelve month high of $225.00. 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 (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WM. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven 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, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.89.

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.