Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $206.07 Million Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,175,101 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,097 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for 0.9% of Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $206,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,498,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,902,110,000 after purchasing an additional 88,137 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Waste Connections by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,715,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $856,641,000 after buying an additional 509,929 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Waste Connections by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $651,427,000 after buying an additional 1,320,933 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Waste Connections by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,104,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $612,605,000 after buying an additional 280,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Waste Connections by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,516,867 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $432,926,000 after buying an additional 193,787 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.28.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $179.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.72. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.12 and a 52-week high of $187.54.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total value of $358,260.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total value of $358,260.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.