Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 293,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,902 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $64,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 47.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Waste Management News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $246 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling confidence in WM’s upside and providing immediate support for the stock. Wells Fargo raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks previews expect Q4 revenue up ~14.5% to $6.4B and EPS around $1.95, saying Collection and Healthcare segments are driving growth — a beat vs. cyclic worries would likely lift the shares. WM Gears Up to Post Q4 Earnings: Here’s What Investors Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat/other publications continue to profile WM as a defensive, dividend-backed infrastructure play (long runway from landfill/regulatory moats), which supports interest from income-focused investors. Waste Management company overview (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks deeper analysis explores metric-level estimates (like volumes, pricing, fuel and benefit impacts) that will drive Q4 results — useful for parsing beats/misses beyond headline EPS. What Analyst Projections for Key Metrics Reveal About WM Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market commentary (TipRanks, Zacks market wrap) highlights WM’s resilience and modest upside in technical studies — these pieces can attract momentum flows but are not fundamental catalysts. TipRanks sector piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank reiterated a “Sector Perform” stance (keeps coverage steady) — a neutral signal that tempers extreme bullishness but doesn’t add fresh negative pressure. Scotiabank reiterates Sector Perform
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank/other outlets have also been reported as downgrading WM in recent headlines, which creates conflicting analyst signals and can pressure sentiment ahead of results. Scotiabank downgrades Waste Management (MSN)
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays/other reports issued pessimistic price forecasts — coupled with WM’s prior quarterly slight EPS/revenue miss, these bearish calls could weigh on shares if the Q4 print or guidance disappoints. Barclays issues pessimistic forecast

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. National Bankshares cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $229.22 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $217.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $92.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.59.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

About Waste Management

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.