Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $234.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $222.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Waste Management has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.27.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid 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 presently 49.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the second quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 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 Company Profile

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.