Arax Advisory Partners Sells 6,079 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Arax Advisory Partners cut its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,079 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at about $577,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,946,000 after purchasing an additional 24,948 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,708,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on WCN shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:WCN opened at $155.88 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.55 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $157.68 and its 200 day moving average is $165.10. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.89 and a 12 month high of $192.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 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 company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

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.