Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Acquired by Amundi

Amundi grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 481,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 177,147 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $86,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 6.0% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 3.7% in the first quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.5% in the first quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $170.46 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.23. The company has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 71.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $163.27 and a 12-month high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.Waste Connections’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 58.33%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. The trade was a 37.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.32.

About Waste Connections

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.