Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Purchased by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 32.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,677,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 413,202 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.66% of Waste Connections worth $294,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after acquiring an additional 717,440 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Waste Connections by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Waste Connections by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after acquiring an additional 918,245 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Waste Connections by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,150 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $155.88 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $192.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.15. The firm has a market cap of $39.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 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 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections 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.