Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Upgraded to Hold at National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Free Report) to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Waste Management's Q2 2025 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.09 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.02 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.69 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.75 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.06.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WM traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $241.09. 2,439,995 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,228. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $230.41 and a 200-day moving average of $222.79. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $241.68.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Waste Management's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $941,181.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,947 shares of company stock valued at $20,536,508 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,526,823,000 after purchasing an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after acquiring an additional 64,260 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,237 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 30.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,233,240,000 after buying an additional 1,239,996 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,726,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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.