Drake & Associates LLC Sells 4,251 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Drake & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,251 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:WCN opened at $154.03 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. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $191.91. The company has a market cap of $39.08 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $156.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.49.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.