Royal Bank Of Canada Boosts Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $244.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised Waste Management’s price target from $240 to $244 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, implying approximately 7.7% upside. The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with a $258.33 average target.
• Waste Management reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $2.02, beating the $1.98 consensus, while revenue increased 4% year over year to $6.68 billion but slightly missed expectations. Management cited pricing, efficiency measures and margin expansion, alongside softer volumes.
• Shares fell 4.2% to $226.55 despite the earnings beat. Institutional investors own approximately 80.4% of the stock, and several analysts recently raised their targets, including Stifel Nicolaus to $261 and Barclays to $277.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $240.00 to $244.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 7.70% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WM. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to an "outperformer" rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.33.

Waste Management Trading Down 4.2%

WM traded down $10.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $226.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,656,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,170,883. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $225.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.74%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter worth $30,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WM reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.02, above the $1.98-$1.99 analyst consensus and up from $1.92 a year earlier. Revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion, while pricing, efficiency measures and margin expansion supported profitability. WM Announces Second Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted improving margins, technology investments, cash flow and the integration of healthcare-related operations on its earnings call. The company maintained its profitability outlook, suggesting cost controls and pricing are helping offset volume challenges. WM Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved after the results. Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target from $252 to $261 and upgraded WM to “buy,” while Barclays lifted its target from $270 to $277 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Analyst price-target updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Management forecast 2026 revenue of approximately $26.3 billion to $26.5 billion, broadly near but slightly below the roughly $26.5 billion consensus. Profitability guidance was maintained, but the company did not provide a clear change to full-year EPS guidance in the reported update. Waste Management Q2 Sales Report
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue narrowly missed expectations, and management acknowledged softer volumes. This raises concern that pricing-led growth may be masking weaker underlying demand and could limit future top-line expansion. WM Earnings Beat on Pricing
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank made a minor reduction to its 2026 EPS estimate, lowering it from $8.16 to $8.15, reflecting limited confidence in near-term earnings growth despite the quarterly beat.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.