Jensen Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 14.0% in the first quarter, owning approximately 1.27 million shares valued at $295 million, making it the firm's 14th largest holding.
• Waste Management reported $1.92 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $6.43 billion, up 19.0% from the previous year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, representing a dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 48.96%.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,274,581 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 206,784 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 3.3% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned 0.32% of Waste Management worth $295,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $234.73. 88,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,700,920. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $230.99 and a 200-day moving average of $228.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Melius Research raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.