Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Sells 306 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 306 shares during the quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Sands Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,044,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,194. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $175.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $45.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.69, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.23.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors 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 0.65%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.94.

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.