National Pension Service Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

National Pension Service grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 896,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,316 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.22% of Waste Management worth $197,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $1,583,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 57,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 50.6% in the 2nd quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,156,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,092,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. National Bankshares reduced their price objective on 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. Truist Financial set a $260.00 target price on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. 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 research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4%

Waste Management stock opened at $222.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $219.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.825 dividend. 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%.

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.

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.