Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Waste Management by 2.4% in Q4 to 446,314 shares (about 0.11% of the company), worth roughly $98.06 million after adding 10,461 shares.
• Institutional ownership is high at 80.40%, with several funds sharply boosting positions (e.g., Capital International +218.3%, Balyasny +3,209.2%), signaling growing institutional interest.
• Waste Management reported quarterly EPS $1.81 (beat $1.75) on $6.23 billion revenue (slightly below estimates) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 ($3.78 annualized, ~1.7% yield).

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 446,314 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,461 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Waste Management worth $98,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $302,494,000 after acquiring an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $309,317,000 after purchasing an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,466,000 after buying an additional 660,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 247.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 868,780 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $198,799,000 after acquiring an additional 618,792 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE WM opened at $220.75 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $232.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.87. The stock has a market cap of $88.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Waste Management's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 92,616 shares of company stock valued at $21,849,115 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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