Donaldson Capital Management LLC Acquires 213,040 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 707.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 243,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 213,040 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 2.1% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $56,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in Waste Management by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 550.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 388,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,915,000 after acquiring an additional 328,654 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 2,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WM. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Melius Research began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $263.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $234.01 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $231.24 and a 200-day moving average of $223.62. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $94.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

About Waste Management

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.