Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Sells 59,727 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,364,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 59,727 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $291,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $300,594,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $193,955,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,234,000 after buying an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $208.05 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.77. The company has a market capitalization of $83.49 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

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.