Insider Selling: Waste Management (NYSE:WM) CAO Sells $239,638.91 in Stock

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) CAO John Carroll sold 1,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total transaction of $239,638.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,950,205.39. This represents a 10.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WM stock opened at $234.07 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.27. 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 company has a market capitalization of $94.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective 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. Scotiabank restated 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, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 21,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,698,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 231.9% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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: Independent valuation suggests WM is materially undervalued — a Yahoo Finance analysis estimates intrinsic value implying roughly a 22% upside versus the current price; that type of third?party valuation can attract value-focused buyers. An Intrinsic Calculation For Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Suggests It’s 22% Undervalued
• Positive Sentiment: Private?equity M&A activity in the waste sector — Platinum Equity’s sale of Urbaser to Blackstone/EQT for $6.6B — highlights strong deal appetite and could re?rate sector multiples if buyers pay premiums for scale and stable cash flows. Platinum Equity to sell waste management firm Urbaser to Blackstone, EQT for $6.6 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed revenue growth but a slight EPS miss vs. consensus (reported $1.93 vs. $1.95) and mixed analyst moves; consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a mid?$250s price target—supportive longer?term but not a catalyst by itself. MarketBeat coverage summarizing earnings and analyst commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling by senior executives — recent filings show the CEO sold multi?million dollars of stock (reports: ~$1.32M and ~$7.00M) — which can spook some investors even when sales are pre?planned or for diversification. Waste Management (NYSE:WM) CEO Sells $1,317,344.22 in Stock Waste Management (NYSE:WM) CEO Sells $7,000,640.40 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider disposals include CAO John Carroll selling 1,021 shares (SEC filing) and another director sale; smaller on an absolute basis but contributes to near?term negative optics. John Carroll Sells 1,021 Shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock James Fish, Jr. Sells 657 Shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management Company 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.