Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 411,118 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,073 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $90,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $325,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 7.6% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 849 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth $245,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Analyst/coverage bullishness and thesis: Multiple recent write-ups argue WM remains a buy/retain due to its scale, dependable cash flows and margin expansion opportunities tied to Stericycle integration and network optimization. That supportive analyst tone can lift demand. Reasons Why You Should Retain Waste Management Stock for Now
• Positive Sentiment: Renewables and pricing tailwinds: Coverage highlights Waste Management’s push into landfill-gas-to-renewable projects and steady pricing power across collection and disposal — factors that support earnings durability and multiple expansion. Zacks: Retain Waste Management
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: WM raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78), raising yield and signaling confidence in cash flow — a concrete positive for income-focused investors. MarketBeat: Dividend and Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: “Tariff-proof”/defensive flows: WM appears on lists of defensive, tariff-resistant stocks institutional investors are favoring amid macro uncertainty — supportive but not company-specific. 247WallSt: Tariff-Proof Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Bull thesis summaries and comparisons: Several outlet pieces and substack notes summarize bullish rationales and compare WM vs peers (MEG), useful for positioning but not immediate catalysts. Yahoo: Bullish Thesis Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Small Q4 miss: WM reported $1.93 EPS vs. $1.95 expected and revenue of $6.31B vs. $6.39B consensus — the miss is modest but reminds investors growth isn’t perfectly linear and can cap upside near-term. MarketBeat: Earnings & Analyst Notes
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Recent insider sales (SVP Johnson Varkey and an executive sale reported by AmericanBankingNews) could be viewed as a near-term negative signal, increasing supply and adding caution for some investors. InsiderTrades: SVP Sale AmericanBankingNews: Executive Sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total value of $7,000,640.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 85,548 shares of company stock valued at $19,984,913 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

Waste Management stock opened at $246.24 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $227.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $99.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

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.