Q1 EPS Forecast for Waste Management Decreased by Analyst

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Investment analysts at William Blair lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Waste Management in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair analyst T. Romeo now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.68 per share 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.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.2 %

WM stock opened at $226.83 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.73. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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 on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value 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 $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $623,000. 111 Capital bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $2,468,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 524.7% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 81,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,498,000 after purchasing an additional 68,672 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $27,540,000. Finally, PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,294,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.