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

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 approximately 0.12% of Waste Management worth $99,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. IMS Capital Management boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 4,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Syntax Research Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 502.8% in the third quarter. Syntax Research Inc. now owns 12,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,509,000 after buying an additional 10,081 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 16,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,878,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 404,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,279,000 after acquiring an additional 40,609 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $205.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $175.62 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Waste Management 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.