Watson Michael J. 4

What Happened

• Michael J. Watson, Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer of Waste Management (WM), received 8,668 performance shares on 2026-01-29 valued at $226.41 each (total ≈ $1,962,522).
• To satisfy tax withholding on the award, 3,372 shares were withheld/disposed at $226.41 each (≈ $763,455) on 2026-01-29. Separately, 687 shares were sold in an open-market transaction on 2026-01-30 at $219.79 each (≈ $150,996) under a pre-established 10b5‑1 plan.
• Net effect: Watson received 8,668 shares and disposed of 4,059 shares, resulting in a net increase of 4,609 shares from these transactions.

Key Details

• Transaction dates and prices:
  • 2026-01-29: Award/acquisition of 8,668 shares @ $226.41 (≈ $1,962,522).
  • 2026-01-29: Tax withholding/settlement of 3,372 shares @ $226.41 (≈ $763,455).
  • 2026-01-30: Open-market sale of 687 shares @ $219.79 (≈ $150,996).
• Footnotes: F1 — settlement of a performance share award under the 2014 Stock Incentive Plan; F2 — sale of additional shares to cover personal federal income tax obligation pursuant to a Rule 10b5‑1 trading plan.
• Shares owned after the reported transactions are not specified in the filing; net increase from these entries is +4,609 shares.
• Filing date: Form 4 filed 2026-02-02; timing appears to be within SEC Form 4 rules for these transaction dates (filed timely).

Context

• This filing reflects the settlement of a performance share award (an acquisition), with routine share disposals to cover tax withholding and a planned sale under a 10b5‑1 plan. Receiving an award is different from an open-market purchase — it’s compensation being issued, not a personal cash buy. The sales noted are standard administrative actions and do not, by themselves, indicate a change in insider sentiment.