Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $508.60 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 58.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,900,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,065,653 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $508,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,092.10. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $154.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $193.08. The firm has a market cap of $39.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Four investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.35.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.