Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,404 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 446,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,404 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $99,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Mindset Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 38.7% during the second quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 1,440.9% during the second quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC now owns 339 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 2.9% in the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 174,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,868,000 after purchasing an additional 4,968 shares in the last quarter. River Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. River Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 33,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,500,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 22,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.89.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $223.95 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The stock has a market cap of $89.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Company 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.