Choate Investment Advisors Sells 4,750 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Choate Investment Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 108,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,750 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Waste Connections were worth $19,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,603,000 after buying an additional 711,990 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,911,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,780,000 after buying an additional 26,684 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,908,000. Finally, Trium Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,995,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,347. The trade was a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $155.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.84 and a twelve month high of $198.00. The stock has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.36 and its 200 day moving average is $166.79.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

About Waste Connections

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.