Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $246.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.53% from the company’s current price.

WM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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 report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $222.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $219.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.22. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of Waste Management 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.