Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 3,725 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,725 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 444.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 15,782.4% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,728,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $395,512,000 after buying an additional 1,717,603 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,258 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 982.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,692,000 after buying an additional 804,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WM opened at $222.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.59. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced 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 company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were 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 directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple broker upgrades/price-target raises signal analyst confidence and create upside expectations — notable lifts include TD Cowen raising its target to $270 (Buy), Oppenheimer to $264 (Outperform), Wells Fargo to $250 (Overweight), Stifel to $252 (Buy) and RBC to $235 (Sector Perform). These raises help underpin demand and longer-term upside.
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat piece argues WM is in a trend-following rally, supported by widening margins, accelerating free cash flow and a resumed buyback plan — factors that can sustain share-price appreciation. Waste Management’s “Boring” Business Is Powering a Quiet Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and buyback tailwinds: WM raised its dividend and signaled intent to resume repurchases (guidance assumes ~$2B in buybacks), improving shareholder-return prospects and offsetting share-based dilution over time. (Referenced in MarketBeat coverage.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry report notes long-term demand in specialized waste markets (solid control drilling waste mgmt. forecast to 2035) — a potential structural tailwind but only indirectly tied to WM’s near-term earnings. Solid Control Drilling Waste Management Market Size
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript is available for investors wanting detail on segment performance and management commentary; useful for parsing how sustainable margin and cash-flow commentary is. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations on both EPS ($1.93 vs. ~$1.95 est.) and revenue (came up short of estimates). The miss pressured the stock as it undercut near-term growth/beat expectations that had supported the rally. Waste Management Stock Falls After Disappointing Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance was slightly below Street expectations (revenue/growth assumptions modest), leaving room for disappointment if execution slips — this is the primary catalyst for short-term downside risk.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

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.