Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 28,266 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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. owned 0.12% of Waste Management worth $99,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $205.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $217.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.46. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.62 and a 1 year high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $82.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped 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. 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, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.72.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.