Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Given “Outperform” Rating at William Blair

William Blair restated their outperform rating on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research note published on Friday morning,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.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WM. Scotiabank raised shares of Waste Management from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.61.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE 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 market cap of $88.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.36.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.