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 Waste Management in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair analyst T. Romeo now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.68 per share for the quarter, down from their previous 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.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results 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%.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.7 %

WM stock opened at $227.37 on Thursday. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.65.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.