Intermede Investment Partners Ltd Makes New $51.58 Million Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Intermede Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 234,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,577,000. Waste Management accounts for about 2.1% of Intermede Investment Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth $325,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 68.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its position in Waste Management by 5.1% in the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

Waste Management stock opened at $218.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.13, for a total value of $150,628.21. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,345,356.91. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.