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

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $538,013,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $300,594,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Waste Management by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $193,955,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,196,000 after purchasing an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE WM traded up $3.68 on Friday, reaching $224.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,854,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,621,463. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $210.21 and its 200 day moving average is $209.26. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.73 and a 52-week high of $226.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.