Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Price Target to $235.00

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $223.00 to $235.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.77% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, CIBC dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given 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 an average price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $222.17 on Friday. 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $219.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.22. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $242.58. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in 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 buying an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 126,329 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $1,064,206,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 11,688 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories 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.

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.