Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Groupe la Francaise

Groupe la Francaise lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 35.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,296 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Bey Douglas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bey Douglas LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,341,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Waste Management

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

• Positive Sentiment: WM reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.02 per share, exceeding the $1.98 consensus estimate. Pricing, productivity initiatives and cost controls helped strengthen margins, while revenue increased 4% year over year to $6.68 billion. WM Earnings Beat on Pricing in Q2, Revenues Miss Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted continued margin gains, technology investments and progress integrating healthcare-related operations, while maintaining its profitability outlook. These improvements could support cash flow and earnings growth. WM Q2 Earnings Call Highlights Margin Gains, Volume and Cash Flow
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their price targets following the results: Stifel Nicolaus increased its target to $261 and kept a Buy rating, Barclays lifted its target to $277 with an Overweight rating, and RBC raised its target to $244 while maintaining Sector Perform. Stifel Nicolaus Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Waste Management
• Neutral Sentiment: The quarterly revenue result was broadly in line with expectations, but the company’s midpoint full-year revenue outlook of $26.38 billion was approximately 0.6% below analyst estimates. Full-year EPS expectations remain near $8.15-$8.16. Waste Management Posts Q2 Sales In Line With Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Softer waste volumes limited revenue growth and offset some of the benefit from pricing and efficiency gains. The combination of weaker volume trends and guidance below expectations appears to be the primary reason investors reacted negatively despite the earnings beat. WM Q2 Deep Dive: Improving Margins and Integration Progress Offset Softer Volume Trends
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank made a marginal reduction to its 2026 EPS forecast, lowering it from $8.16 to $8.15, reinforcing concerns that near-term growth could remain modest.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.33.

Waste Management Stock Down 4.5%

Waste Management stock opened at $226.05 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $90.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $225.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

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.