10,602 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 228,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,602 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Waste Connections worth $35,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,983,500,000 after acquiring an additional 106,763 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,061,947,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,724,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $604,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth $510,526,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $206.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waste Connections from $187.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.22.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $191.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $195.34.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.3850 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew Black sold 11,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.60, for a total transaction of $1,986,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,874,918. The trade was a 25.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP James Little sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.22, for a total value of $370,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 32,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,000,201.90. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,960,235 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers, offering scheduled and on-demand collection as well as waste management solutions tailored to municipalities and businesses.

Its operations include local collection fleets, transfer stations, recycling and resource-recovery facilities, and landfills. Waste Connections also provides non-hazardous oilfield waste services, including the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste generated by energy-production activities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections has grown through a combination of internal development and acquisitions.