Waste Management (WM) – Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Waste Management (NYSE: WM):

• 2/3/2025 – Waste Management had its price target raised by analysts at Scotiabank from $250.00 to $255.00. They now have a “sector outperform” rating on the stock.
• 2/3/2025 – Waste Management had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $242.00 to $255.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 1/31/2025 – Waste Management had its price target raised by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. from $231.00 to $237.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 1/31/2025 – Waste Management had its price target raised by analysts at Raymond James from $235.00 to $237.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 1/31/2025 – Waste Management had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at William Blair.
• 1/31/2025 – Waste Management was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 1/31/2025 – Waste Management had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $227.00 to $235.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 1/27/2025 – Waste Management was upgraded by analysts at Scotiabank from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating. They now have a $250.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $225.00.
• 1/23/2025 – Waste Management had its price target lowered by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $255.00 to $238.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 1/4/2025 – Waste Management was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 12/25/2024 – Waste Management was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating.
• 12/17/2024 – Waste Management was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 12/11/2024 – Waste Management had its price target raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $243.00 to $252.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/9/2024 – Waste Management was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WM opened at $222.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.20 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $212.16 and a 200-day moving average of $211.25.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’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 value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,674,780 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 24,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,919,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 7,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $302,000. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 1,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 615,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $124,263,000 after buying an additional 58,826 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.