Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, TD Cowen Analyst Says

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price upped by analysts at TD Cowen from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target indicates a potential upside of 21.53% from the stock’s current price.

WM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. National Bankshares cut their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down previously from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $222.17 on Friday. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The company 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $219.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.22. 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 (NYSE:WM) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after buying an additional 1,800,728 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 15,782.4% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,728,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $395,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717,603 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after acquiring an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.