Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,020 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $325,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 9,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $957,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets and reiterated buy/overweight views, boosting investor confidence in WM’s medium?term outlook; several published targets cited in recent coverage range into the mid?$200s. Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target Raised to $270.00
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings?call highlights emphasize healthy cash flow, margin resilience and growth in renewable natural gas (RNG) initiatives — operational drivers that support earnings upgrades and the higher targets. Waste Management Earnings Call Highlights Cash, Margins, RNG
• Neutral Sentiment: High?visibility sponsorships and events (WM Phoenix Open) are generating media attention and brand exposure; useful for marketing but unlikely to move fundamentals materially. What Waste Management Phoenix Open is doing differently for 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational work such as winter?storm collection recovery in Jackson underscores steady municipal and service demand but is routine for WM’s service footprint. City of Jackson, Waste Management to begin winter storm trash collection recovery efforts
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of insider sales (multiple executives and senior VPs disclosed small single?day sales on Jan. 30) could be perceived negatively by some investors even though the transactions look like routine monetizations and only trimmed stakes modestly. Representative SEC disclosure. SEC Filing — Johnson Varkey Sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.59, for a total transaction of $151,517.10. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 13,376 shares in the company, valued at $2,937,235.84. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,806 shares of company stock worth $1,490,204. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $226.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $219.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.19. The stock has a market cap of $91.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 2.38 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Waste Management Profile

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.