A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. Buys Shares of 1,225 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,700,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 110,208.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,778,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $749,659,000 after purchasing an additional 4,774,218 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $658,370,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Waste Management by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,281,000 after buying an additional 1,718,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Waste Management by 194.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,217,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $192,988,000 after buying an additional 804,708 shares during the last quarter. 78.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.44, for a total value of $27,423.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,059.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director John C. Pope sold 198 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.40, for a total value of $33,343.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,455,154.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.44, for a total value of $27,423.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 822 shares in the company, valued at $131,059.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $159.22. The stock had a trading volume of 360,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,415. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $161.99 and its 200 day moving average is $162.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.31 and a twelve month high of $173.71.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 33.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 50.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WM. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $192.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.25.

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.