GSA Capital Partners LLP Sells 7,398 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

GSA Capital Partners LLP trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 87.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,398 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,856,000 after purchasing an additional 126,329 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,390,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,232,131,000 after purchasing an additional 74,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,064,206,000. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,809,000 after buying an additional 284,733 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.71, for a total value of $239,638.91. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,950,205.39. This trade represents a 10.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,820 shares of company stock valued at $14,487,482. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Waste Management

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

• Positive Sentiment: Broader market/industry tailwind — a report highlights long-term growth in the healthcare waste-management market, which supports demand for regulated waste services and can benefit large, diversified providers like WM. Healthcare Waste Management Market Size
• Positive Sentiment: Price momentum since earnings — investor notes point out WM has rallied since its last quarterly report, prompting discussion of whether that momentum can continue (supports short-term buying interest). Zacks: WM Up Since Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative performance debate — a Barchart piece notes WM has lagged the S&P 500 over the past year but reports analysts remain moderately optimistic; this frames the stock as undervalued by some and fairly valued by others. Is WM Underperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector peer activity — news of contract wins at smaller regional waste/cleaning firms highlights steady demand in services markets but has limited direct impact on WM’s fundamentals. Primech Contract Wins
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — WM’s CAO John A. Carroll sold 37 shares (small dollar amount) in a disclosed SEC filing; while the size is minor, insider sales can create short-term sentiment pressure. CAO Sale SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — WM’s CFO David L. Reed also sold 37 shares (disclosed in SEC filing); again small in size but contributes to the narrative of insider trimming. CFO Sale SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Institutional reduction — Aster Capital significantly trimmed its WM stake (reported reduction), a data point that can amplify selling pressure from funds rebalancing. Aster Capital Reduces Position
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation critique — analysis on Seeking Alpha calls WM a reliable dividend name but argues the stock trades at a premium, highlighting valuation as a potential restraint on further multiple expansion. Seeking Alpha: Dividend Darling, But Premium Stinks

Waste Management Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of WM opened at $240.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $97.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly 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). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

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.