Waste Management, Inc. $WM Holdings Lifted by Horizon Investments LLC

Key Points

• Horizon Investments increased its stake in Waste Management by 64.2% in Q4, boosting holdings to 37,563 shares valued at about $8.25 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — 92,616 shares were sold in the past 90 days (≈$21.85 million), including notable sales by SVP Tara J. Hemmer and VP Donald J. Smith.
• Waste Management posted a Q1 EPS beat ($1.81 vs. $1.75) but missed revenue expectations, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 (annualized $3.78, ~1.7% yield), and analysts have pushed price targets higher (consensus ≈ $255.67).

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 64.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,563 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,684 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,616 shares of company stock worth $21,849,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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

Waste Management Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $228.81 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $232.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.71. The company has a market cap of $92.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. 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. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.