Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 668 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 668 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth approximately $592,392,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,933 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 235.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,153,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,240,000 after purchasing an additional 809,914 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 113.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,188,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,438,000 after acquiring an additional 630,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,715,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $856,641,000 after purchasing an additional 509,929 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.1 %

WCN traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, hitting $186.59. 480,285 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 892,227. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $178.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.77. The firm has a market cap of $48.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $187.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at $778,428.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at $214,243.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,600 shares of company stock worth $4,011,550. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target on the stock. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.28.

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.