Waste Management’s (WM) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at William Blair

William Blair restated their outperform rating on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research note published on Friday,RTT News reports. William Blair also issued estimates for Waste Management’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.78 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.08 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.11 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.79 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.25 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.42 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $2.27 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Argus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.61.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.0 %

WM opened at $220.10 on Friday. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $184.72 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $212.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WM. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 23,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,744,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC now owns 23,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $805,000. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 4,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 3,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 15,452 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 4,639 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.