Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $666,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 87.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 354,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,152,000 after buying an additional 165,344 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,493,000 after acquiring an additional 7,334 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 25,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,443,000 after acquiring an additional 9,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $153.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.21. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $191.91. The company has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WCN. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed 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. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.84.

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.