Maven Securities LTD Acquires Shares of 17,855 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 17,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,976,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Waste Connections by 124.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 5.9% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 807,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $134,683,000 after purchasing an additional 45,018 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 5.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 72,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,089,000 after buying an additional 3,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,826,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $163.15 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.11. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $179.74. The company has a market cap of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Waste Connections Company 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.