Q1 EPS Estimates for Waste Management Cut by William Blair

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Stock analysts at William Blair decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Waste Management in a research note issued to investors on Friday, January 31st. William Blair analyst T. Romeo now expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.78 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.86. William Blair currently has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $7.99 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Waste Management’s 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 research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Ten 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.61.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $220.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $88.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $184.72 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $212.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 38.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after buying an additional 5,367 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 6.2% in the third 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. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 currently 44.12%.

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.