Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Has $608.23 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Sustainable Growth Advisers LP reduced its Waste Management stake by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, but still held 2.77 million shares worth about $608.2 million as of the filing.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share, topping estimates, while revenue reached $6.23 billion and rose 3.5% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, which annualizes to $3.78 and implies a 1.8% yield; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $255.67.

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,768,350 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 493,798 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises 4.2% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP owned approximately 0.69% of Waste Management worth $608,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its position in Waste Management by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in Waste Management by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,192,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Waste Management by 333.1% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 6,493 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,881,975 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $415,597,000 after acquiring an additional 195,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 226.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 130,070 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,724,000 after acquiring an additional 90,170 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,494 shares of company stock worth $3,054,863. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE WM opened at $212.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $85.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $224.39 and a 200-day moving average of $224.27.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Company Profile

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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