William Blair Lifts Earnings Estimates for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) - Stock analysts at William Blair upped their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Waste Management in a research report issued on Wednesday, June 25th. William Blair analyst T. Romeo now anticipates that the business services provider will earn $2.17 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.13. 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 Q1 2026 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.48 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.83 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.64 EPS.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis.

WM has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. HSBC raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $250.71.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM traded down $1.72 on Thursday, hitting $226.86. 2,039,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,621,515. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The business's 50 day moving average price is $233.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.23. The company has a market capitalization of $91.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $4,846,000. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,848,141 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $427,863,000 after acquiring an additional 108,066 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 738.2% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 759,217 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $175,766,000 after acquiring an additional 668,637 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,356 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 21.2% in the first quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,318 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.