William Blair Expects Lower Earnings for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Equities research analysts at William Blair reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Waste Management in a report issued 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 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.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $224.76 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, 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. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WM. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in 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 buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.