Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 460,940 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,516 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Waste Management worth $106,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 4.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 592,229 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $137,108,000 after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 34,617 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,985,000 after purchasing an additional 10,936 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 231,987 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $46,813,000 after buying an additional 9,014 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4%

WM stock opened at $226.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

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.

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