Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 533 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $4,902,110,000 after purchasing an additional 88,137 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,423,373,000 after buying an additional 178,870 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Waste Connections by 8.3% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 193,787 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.7% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,189,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $384,268,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,690,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,510,000 after acquiring an additional 71,681 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $778,428.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Scotiabank assumed 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. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $177.64 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $129.31 and a one year high of $187.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.80, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $181.14 and a 200 day moving average of $175.73.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 31.32%.

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.