Zacks Research Forecasts Lower Earnings for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Waste Management in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.70 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.80. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Management’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.91 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.94 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.94 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.61 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.14 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.14 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.92 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WM. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4 %

WM opened at $230.59 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $232.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

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.