Brokerages Set Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) PT at $251.19

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $253.5455.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. National Bankshares lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Waste Management News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple broker upgrades/price-target raises signal analyst confidence and create upside expectations — notable lifts include TD Cowen raising its target to $270 (Buy), Oppenheimer to $264 (Outperform), Wells Fargo to $250 (Overweight), Stifel to $252 (Buy) and RBC to $235 (Sector Perform). These raises help underpin demand and longer-term upside.
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat piece argues WM is in a trend-following rally, supported by widening margins, accelerating free cash flow and a resumed buyback plan — factors that can sustain share-price appreciation. Waste Management’s “Boring” Business Is Powering a Quiet Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and buyback tailwinds: WM raised its dividend and signaled intent to resume repurchases (guidance assumes ~$2B in buybacks), improving shareholder-return prospects and offsetting share-based dilution over time. (Referenced in MarketBeat coverage.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry report notes long-term demand in specialized waste markets (solid control drilling waste mgmt. forecast to 2035) — a potential structural tailwind but only indirectly tied to WM’s near-term earnings. Solid Control Drilling Waste Management Market Size
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript is available for investors wanting detail on segment performance and management commentary; useful for parsing how sustainable margin and cash-flow commentary is. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations on both EPS ($1.93 vs. ~$1.95 est.) and revenue (came up short of estimates). The miss pressured the stock as it undercut near-term growth/beat expectations that had supported the rally. Waste Management Stock Falls After Disappointing Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance was slightly below Street expectations (revenue/growth assumptions modest), leaving room for disappointment if execution slips — this is the primary catalyst for short-term downside risk.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $222.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.59. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.25%.

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.