Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Position Reduced by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH cut its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 452,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 33,602 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $79,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank set a $197.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:WCN opened at $159.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $157.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.36. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $192.72. The company has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.