Christopher Desantis Sells 215 Shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) SVP Christopher Desantis sold 215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.85, for a total value of $47,052.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,092,424.85. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.9%

WM stock opened at $225.11 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $219.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.14. The stock has a market cap of $90.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 27,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,040,000 after acquiring an additional 3,885 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. F m Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 64,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,179,000 after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 28,139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 31,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Key Headlines Impacting Waste Management

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have raised price targets on WM across multiple reports (new targets run roughly from low‑$235s up to $270), reflecting stronger confidence in the company’s outlook and supporting buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Post‑earnings commentary highlights healthy cash flow, margin resilience and RNG (renewable natural gas) initiatives — operational positives that underpin higher analyst targets and medium‑term earnings potential. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational win / responsiveness: Waste Management is partnering with the City of Jackson for winter‑storm trash collection recovery efforts, showing local operations and emergency response capability that can support near‑term revenue and community relations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/sponsorship exposure at the WM Phoenix Open (Pro‑Am draws, Birds Nest concerts and other event coverage) boosts visibility and marketing value but is unlikely to move fundamentals materially in the short term. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local and event safety coverage: reporting on what the Phoenix Open is doing differently this year (and how police are handling impaired driving around the event) is primarily reputational and operations‑related — monitor headlines but expect limited direct impact on earnings. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cluster of insider sales disclosed for Jan. 30 — multiple senior executives (CFO, COO, several SVPs/VPs and others) reported modest reductions in holdings. These look like routine monetizations (not departures) but the concentration of filings may create short‑term investor caution. Representative filings: Read More. and Read More.

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.