Choate Investment Advisors Increases Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 167.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28,432 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 116.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,286. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $179.99. The company had a trading volume of 861,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 897,933. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $169.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $181.79. The firm has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a PE ratio of 58.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 18th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.53.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.