William Blair Boosts Earnings Estimates for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Research analysts at William Blair boosted their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Waste Management in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, June 25th. William Blair analyst T. Romeo now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $2.17 per share for the quarter, up from their prior 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.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WM. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Melius began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $229.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.00.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE WM opened at $228.14 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $233.03 and its 200 day moving average is $224.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $91.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management 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 in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

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.