Merrion Investment Management Co LLC Acquires New Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in Waste Connections by 3.9% during the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Waste Connections by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $169,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares in the company, valued at $899,249. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.36. 995,988 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 955,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.12 and a fifty-two week high of $177.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.25 billion, a PE ratio of 56.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WCN. Oppenheimer increased their price target on 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 Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.94.

Waste Connections Company 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.