Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases 7,078 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 37.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,078 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 1.0% of Machina Capital S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WM. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Truist Financial set a $260.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. CIBC cut their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down previously from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Key Stories Impacting Waste Management

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.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.32, for a total value of $151,111.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,159 shares in the company, valued at $12,316,791.88. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 690 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.59, for a total value of $151,517.10. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 13,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,937,235.84. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,806 shares of company stock worth $1,490,204 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $225.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $219.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

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.