Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Purchased by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 70.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,200,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 497,944 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $195,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 19.92% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.05.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.9%

Waste Connections stock opened at $169.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $42.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $191.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $161.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.28.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Waste Connections Company 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.