Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,881,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 195,092 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 2.0% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.47% of Waste Management worth $415,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 101.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 47.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.71, for a total transaction of $151,599.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 83,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,397,636.56. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 689 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.32, for a total value of $151,111.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,159 shares in the company, valued at $12,316,791.88. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,806 shares of company stock valued at $1,490,204 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

WM stock opened at $226.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $220.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $91.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Barclays cut their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

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.