Donaldson Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Donaldson Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 97.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,958 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 241,950 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $225.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $90.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $232.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total transaction of $7,000,640.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,013,675.48. The trade was a 11.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.