Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 8,469 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 134.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,469 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $176.42 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $181.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $187.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.52 billion, a PE ratio of 57.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.72.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 37.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.53.

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.