15,295 Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Purchased by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,485,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,351,000 after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 7.4% during the first quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 2,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 11.2% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.9% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 28,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 80.5% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.00.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $172.01 on Friday. 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 $43.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.54. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.89 and a 12 month high of $191.91.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

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.