Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) - Equities researchers at William Blair lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Waste Management in a research report issued on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair analyst T. Romeo now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.68 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.78. William Blair currently has a "Outperform" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waste Management's current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Waste Management's Q2 2025 earnings at $2.00 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.13 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.94 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.45 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.29 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.98 EPS.
Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.65.
Get Our Latest Analysis on WM
Waste Management Trading Up 0.6 %
WM stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $226.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,518,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,301. The firm has a market cap of $90.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The company's 50-day moving average price is $223.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.03.
Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after buying an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Waste Management by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Waste Management Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.
About Waste Management
(
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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.
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