Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Given New $244.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $240.00 to $244.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 7.70% from the company’s current price.

WM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.33.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $10.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $226.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,656,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,170,883. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $225.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.56. The firm has a market cap of $90.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.74%. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $1,022,916,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 279.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,075,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,387,000 after buying an additional 792,037 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 23,051.5% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 770,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,716,000 after buying an additional 767,615 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,466,000 after buying an additional 660,776 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after acquiring an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WM reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.02, above the $1.98-$1.99 analyst consensus and up from $1.92 a year earlier. Revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion, while pricing, efficiency measures and margin expansion supported profitability. WM Announces Second Quarter 2026 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted improving margins, technology investments, cash flow and the integration of healthcare-related operations on its earnings call. The company maintained its profitability outlook, suggesting cost controls and pricing are helping offset volume challenges. WM Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved after the results. Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target from $252 to $261 and upgraded WM to “buy,” while Barclays lifted its target from $270 to $277 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Analyst price-target updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Management forecast 2026 revenue of approximately $26.3 billion to $26.5 billion, broadly near but slightly below the roughly $26.5 billion consensus. Profitability guidance was maintained, but the company did not provide a clear change to full-year EPS guidance in the reported update. Waste Management Q2 Sales Report
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue narrowly missed expectations, and management acknowledged softer volumes. This raises concern that pricing-led growth may be masking weaker underlying demand and could limit future top-line expansion. WM Earnings Beat on Pricing
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank made a minor reduction to its 2026 EPS estimate, lowering it from $8.16 to $8.15, reflecting limited confidence in near-term earnings growth despite the quarterly beat.

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.