Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,902 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.07% of Waste Management worth $64,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its position in Waste Management by 1.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. KWB Wealth boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.3% in the second quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 3,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, InTrack Investment Management Inc increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 5,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Waste Management News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $246 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling confidence in WM’s upside and providing immediate support for the stock. Wells Fargo raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks previews expect Q4 revenue up ~14.5% to $6.4B and EPS around $1.95, saying Collection and Healthcare segments are driving growth — a beat vs. cyclic worries would likely lift the shares. WM Gears Up to Post Q4 Earnings: Here’s What Investors Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat/other publications continue to profile WM as a defensive, dividend-backed infrastructure play (long runway from landfill/regulatory moats), which supports interest from income-focused investors. Waste Management company overview (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks deeper analysis explores metric-level estimates (like volumes, pricing, fuel and benefit impacts) that will drive Q4 results — useful for parsing beats/misses beyond headline EPS. What Analyst Projections for Key Metrics Reveal About WM Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market commentary (TipRanks, Zacks market wrap) highlights WM’s resilience and modest upside in technical studies — these pieces can attract momentum flows but are not fundamental catalysts. TipRanks sector piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank reiterated a “Sector Perform” stance (keeps coverage steady) — a neutral signal that tempers extreme bullishness but doesn’t add fresh negative pressure. Scotiabank reiterates Sector Perform
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank/other outlets have also been reported as downgrading WM in recent headlines, which creates conflicting analyst signals and can pressure sentiment ahead of results. Scotiabank downgrades Waste Management (MSN)
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays/other reports issued pessimistic price forecasts — coupled with WM’s prior quarterly slight EPS/revenue miss, these bearish calls could weigh on shares if the Q4 print or guidance disappoints. Barclays issues pessimistic forecast

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down previously from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.19.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $229.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.18. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $92.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 51.97%.

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.