Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target upped by Royal Bank Of Canada from $223.00 to $235.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. National Bankshares lowered their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of WM stock opened at $222.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.27. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company 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 (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,856,000 after buying an additional 126,329 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 5.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after acquiring an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth $1,064,206,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Waste Management

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.

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.