Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 489 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 489 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the first quarter worth $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective 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. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $191.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction 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 $1,805,272.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $181.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $181.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.38. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $187.54. The stock has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.02 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.13%.

Waste Connections Company 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.