Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. lowered its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 81.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25,678 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1 %

WCN stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $175.74. 1,140,067 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 909,963. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.06, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $182.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $169,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares in the company, valued at $899,249. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.00.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.