Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Drake & Associates LLC

Drake & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,251 shares during the quarter. Drake & Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought 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 directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. Weiss Ratings cut Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Three 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. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $154.03 on Friday. 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 $146.89 and a twelve month high of $191.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $156.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.49. The firm has a market cap of $39.08 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid 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 presently 34.15%.

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.