Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $415.60 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,881,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 195,092 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 2.0% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $415,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

WM stock opened at $226.99 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $220.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.32, for a total transaction of $151,111.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,159 shares in the company, valued at $12,316,791.88. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 220 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.57, for a total value of $48,305.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,048,588.10. The trade was a 2.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 6,806 shares of company stock worth $1,490,204 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management 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.