Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $99,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WM opened at $205.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.46. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $175.62 and a one year high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $82.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.