Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 5,100 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000. Waste Connections accounts for about 0.6% of Caldwell Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at $577,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Waste Connections by 12.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,946,000 after purchasing an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,572,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $169.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $166.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $188.09.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections 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.