Bill Gates Bought Up More Waste Management Stock

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Bill Gates has signaled that he may be in Waste Management (ticker: WM) stock for the long haul.

His investment vehicle Cascade Investment LLC bought 1.22 million more shares of the trash and recycling firm in 2018. The disclosure was made in a form Cascade filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday night. As of Dec. 31, Gates's firm owned 14.5 million Waste Management shares, up from 13.3 million shares at the end of 2015.

Cascade didn't respond to a request for comment on the transaction.

When, exactly, Cascade bought the additional Waste Management shares is unclear. Apparently, Cascade could have bought the stock at any point in 2018, as SEC guidelines only provide for an amended filing within 45 days after the end of a calendar year to report changes in holdings.

Waste Management stock had a lackluster 2018, only bagging a 3% gain. But shares have gone through a renewal this year. Waste Management stock has surged 12.4% year to date to $100 in intraday trading Thursday, helped by strong earnings. That is a new high for the stock price.

Gates, a co-founder of Microsoft (MSFT), along with his wife Melinda Gates, also own Waste Management stock through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which they serve as co-trustees. At Dec. 31, the trust owned 18.6 million Waste Management shares, a figure unchanged from the end of 2015. Overall, Bill Gates owns 33.1 million shares, a stake of 7.8% in Waste Management.

Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com and follow @BarronsEdLin.