Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 185.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,634 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in Waste Connections by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,921 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% in 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,675,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $819,939,000 after purchasing an additional 220,575 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $697,519,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1%

Waste Connections stock opened at $168.07 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $42.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $191.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $156.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.84.

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.