Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Triasima Portfolio Management inc.

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. trimmed its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,537 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,772 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up 2.5% of Triasima Portfolio Management inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Connections worth $26,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 116.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.28.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded down $2.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $182.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,192,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 884,394. The firm has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.29, a P/E/G 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 $187.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $180.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

About Waste Connections

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.