Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Holdings Boosted by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.8 %

Waste Management stock opened at $227.72 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $218.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.94. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WM. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

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.