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

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% in the first quarter, buying 14,003 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 460,317 shares worth about $105.8 million.
• Several other institutional investors also slightly raised their positions, and institutional ownership remains high at 80.40% of Waste Management’s stock.
• Analysts remain generally positive: Waste Management has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $256.20, while the stock recently traded at $232.90 after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 460,317 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,003 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Waste Management worth $105,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Bey Douglas LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bey Douglas LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to an "outperformer" rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.20.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.6%

WM stock opened at $232.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $93.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $221.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.26. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

About Waste Management

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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