Candriam S.C.A. Sells 7,840 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,840 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth about $2,844,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,491,000. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 11,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 132,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,449,000 after acquiring an additional 11,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.79.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $171.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $43.42 billion, a PE ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $191.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $158.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.67.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.15%.

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.