Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management increased its Waste Management stake by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 441,789 shares to bring its total to 2.32 million shares worth about $510.6 million.
• Waste Management reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $1.81 EPS versus estimates of $1.75, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year to $6.23 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, implying an annualized yield of 1.7%, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,323,764 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 441,789 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 2.6% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.58% of Waste Management worth $510,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $217.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.55. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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