Principal Securities Inc. Has $1.07 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 31.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,306 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded down $1.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 675,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,955. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $230.39. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $213.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

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.