Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by American Trust

American Trust lowered its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $242,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 116,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $5,214,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $179.49. 1,058,689 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 976,633. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.82. The firm has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.28, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $182.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,800 shares of company stock worth $3,654,600 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WCN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.28.

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.