Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

04 May 2026, 08:29 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM – Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,880 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of WM stock opened at $228.81 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $232.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $91.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change 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 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Get Our Latest Report on WM

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 92,616 shares of company stock valued at $21,849,115 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

(Free Report)

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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