"Shares of Waste Management Inc. ( NYSE: WM) reached a $242.58 all-time high in June. They are down 11.7% since then, despite rising 6.7% in the past month. Year to date, the stock has underperformed the S&P 500. As the market continues to run higher after a significant downturn earlier in the year, this industrials sector staple maintains its position as a defensive stock, with the company currently boasting 84% institutional ownership."
"Although Waste Management is a trash-hauling behemoth today, it had humble beginnings. Harm Huizenga began picking up garbage in Chicago in 1893 for $1.25 per wagonload. About 75 years later, his grandson Wayne Huizenga resurrected the family business, founded Waste Management, and quickly undertook a growth-by-acquisition strategy, buying up hundreds of small trash collection services across the country."
"Those days are long gone. U.S. Waste Services, which had been a publicly traded company since 1987, acquired Waste Management in 1998 and assumed the Waste Management name. The stock has generated total returns of more than 1,035% over three decades, compared to an almost 990% return by the S&P 500. The trash hauler began paying a dividend when the two companies merged, and it has consistently increased the payout every year since 2004."
Waste Management saw an all-time high of $242.58 in June and has since declined 11.7%, though it rose 6.7% in the past month. Year-to-date performance lags the S&P 500, while institutional ownership stands at 84%, supporting its defensive profile. The company traces origins to 1893 with Harm Huizenga and expanded aggressively under Wayne Huizenga through acquisitions of hundreds of local haulers. U.S. Waste Services acquired and renamed itself Waste Management in 1998. The stock returned over 1,035% in three decades versus about 990% for the S&P 500, and dividends have increased annually since 2004.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
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