Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,389 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Waste Management

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.945 per share (14.5% increase vs prior quarter); payable March 27 with record/ex‑dividend dates March 13. The raise strengthens WM’s income profile and signals continued free cash flow generation. WM Announces Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional demand reported (notably a new Norges Bank stake in Q4) supports longer‑term buy-side conviction and helps underpin the stock despite near‑term volatility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains positive overall (consensus “Moderate Buy” with a ~ $253.55 target). Upgrades and raised targets provide context for upside but are largely already priced in.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple executives sold shares on March 2 — including VP Michael J. Watson (17,251 shares, ~28% reduction in his stake) and SVP Tara J. Hemmer (4,818 shares). Large officer sales can create short‑term selling pressure or prompt investor scrutiny; watch for follow‑on insider activity. Insider Sale SEC Filing (Michael J. Watson)

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of WM opened at $243.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $244.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for 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 last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,644,130. This represents a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 84,931 shares of company stock worth $19,834,285. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.