Strs Ohio Has $25.21 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• STRS Ohio trimmed its stake in Waste Management by 22.6% in Q4 to 114,734 shares worth about $25.21 million, while institutional investors now own 80.40% of the company.
• Waste Management beat Q1 EPS ($1.81 vs. $1.75) but slightly missed revenue expectations ($6.23B vs. $6.28B); analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $255.67 and several firms raising targets to the $270–$275 range.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78), implying a yield of about 1.7% and a payout ratio near 54.7%.

Strs Ohio lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 114,734 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 33,477 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in Waste Management were worth $25,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after buying an additional 553,605 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,494,000 after buying an additional 236,439 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% in the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $720,380,000 after buying an additional 364,512 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Waste Management

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst boosts from high-conviction firms — TD Cowen raised its price target to $275 and keeps a buy rating, and Barclays lifted its target to $270 with an overweight rating. Those upgrades signal analyst confidence and imply double‑digit upside from current levels. TD Cowen raise Barclays raise
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights WM as a strong growth stock based on style scores and fundamentals — a positive signal for growth-oriented investors and fund flows. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Modest price target increase from RBC to $240 with a "sector perform" rating — supportive but conservative, reflecting limited near-term conviction (small upside). RBC note
• Neutral Sentiment: Market research on multi-layer film recycling forecasts strong long‑term growth (9.2% CAGR to 2035), which supports waste/recycling industry tailwinds but is unlikely to move WM stock immediately. Market report
• Neutral Sentiment: Benzinga summary: analysts revised forecasts after WM’s Q1 (EPS beat, revenue miss). The mixed nature of results leaves room for differing analyst actions and contributes to intra-day volatility. Analyst revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target from $273 to $268 (still overweight) — a downward tweak that reduces near-term upside expectations. Wells Fargo trim
• Negative Sentiment: Peer strength: Waste Connections (WCN) reported beat-and-raise style results and noted liquidity considerations, highlighting competitive momentum in the sector that could put pressure on WM’s market-share narrative. Investors may reallocate toward peers showing stronger near-term top-line momentum. WCN article

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 92,616 shares of company stock valued at $21,849,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $228.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $232.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.71. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

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.

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