Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Prospera Financial Services Inc

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 149.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,477 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 107,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC boosted its position in Waste Management by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $840,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial set a $260.00 target price on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Key Waste Management News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly positive on WM, citing steady operations and durable cash flow that support the stock’s premium valuation; analyst sentiment likely helped buy-side interest today. Waste Management Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market/sector headlines (e.g., energy/midstream names) are active but not directly tied to WM’s fundamentals; these macro flows can move sentiment but aren’t a primary driver for Waste Management. Williams Companies Stock Climbs as Investors Focus on Gas Demand
• Negative Sentiment: CEO James C. Fish, Jr. disclosed multiple open-market sales this week totaling 36,753 shares (sales on Feb. 6, 9 and 10) for roughly $8.47M at ~ $230/share, reducing his stake materially in the largest single filing (an ~11.9% cut noted in one filing). Broader coverage also flags ~ $17M of insider selling at Waste Management, which can be interpreted by some investors as a cautionary signal. SEC filing: SEC Filing – Insider Sales — additional coverage: Waste Management Insiders Sell US$17m Of Stock

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $231.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $220.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.15.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced 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 company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.59, for a total value of $151,517.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 13,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,937,235.84. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total transaction of $7,000,640.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at $52,013,675.48. The trade was a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,559 shares of company stock valued at $9,959,299. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.