William Blair Forecasts Weaker Earnings for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Investment analysts at William Blair dropped their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Waste Management in a report released on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair analyst T. Romeo now expects that the business services provider will earn $1.68 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate 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.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $227.37 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $91.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.65. 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 (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $340,611,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Waste Management by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,658,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,716,000 after buying an additional 1,184,905 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after buying an additional 1,151,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,506,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.