Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $94.53 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 468,456 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,078 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Waste Management worth $94,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $227.89. 1,709,065 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,810. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $213.14 and its 200-day moving average is $212.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is 44.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.94.

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.