Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Stake Lowered by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCNFree Report) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,227 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $577,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,946,000 after buying an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,572,000 after buying an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,708,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.35.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WCN

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $155.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $158.05 and a 200-day moving average of $165.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $193.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCNGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Waste Connections Profile

(Free Report)

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN)

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