KBC Group NV Acquires 57,028 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its stake in Waste Management by 16.2% in the first quarter, buying 57,028 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 409,741 shares worth about $94.2 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive: several analysts recently kept or raised price targets, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $256.70.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.81 per share last quarter, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.945, yielding about 1.6% annually.

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 409,741 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 57,028 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.10% of Waste Management worth $94,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,206,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in Waste Management by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Waste Management by 333.1% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,855,000 after buying an additional 6,493 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,898,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,494,000 after buying an additional 236,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Waste Management

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised Waste Management’s price target to $260 from $250, suggesting continued upside potential despite maintaining a “sector perform” view.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlighted WM’s strong waste collection network, pricing power, and acquisition strategy as supports for growth and margins.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group Bank trimmed its FY2026 EPS estimate to $8.16 from $8.17, a very small revision that matches the current consensus estimate.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group also nudged FY2027 EPS down to $9.20 from $9.23, another modest cut that does not materially change the long-term earnings outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst notes pointed to WM’s high debt load and slower stock momentum as ongoing concerns that could weigh on investor sentiment.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to an "outperformer" rating and set a $244.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $256.70.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $239.50 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $222.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.53. The firm has a market cap of $96.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.66, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

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.

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