Bleakley Financial Group LLC Trims Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,909 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,338 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,715,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $856,641,000 after purchasing an additional 509,929 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $651,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,933 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,104,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $612,605,000 after acquiring an additional 280,275 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $592,392,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Waste Connections by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $522,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,418 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at $1,341,390.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $899,249. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $752,385. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $182.39. The company had a trading volume of 917,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,040. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $182.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

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.