John Morris Sells 690 Shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) COO John Morris sold 690 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.49, for a total value of $151,448.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 106,635 shares in the company, valued at $23,405,316.15. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.9%

WM stock opened at $225.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.14. The company has a market capitalization of $90.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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 company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. CIBC decreased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management News Roundup

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.

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.