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

Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 707.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,136 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 213,040 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up approximately 2.1% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Waste Management worth $56,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $822,588,000 after purchasing an additional 224,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WM traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $236.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,414,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,022. The business's fifty day moving average is $231.75 and its 200 day moving average is $223.77. The firm has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.