Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Bought by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,096 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $56,135,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:WM traded down $1.10 on Wednesday, hitting $223.11. The stock had a trading volume of 668,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,526,265. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $219.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.04. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $89.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.