The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 544,348 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 73.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 544,348 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $46,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $226.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.60. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.91 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $244.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.33.

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.