Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $176.29 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,005,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,677 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $176,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 6.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 144,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,899,000 after acquiring an additional 8,505 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 591.5% in the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 8,452 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,320,933 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Waste Connections by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 34,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,103,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meyer Handelman Co. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at $1,040,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.28.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.6 %

WCN opened at $177.69 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $187.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $181.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.96. The stock has a market cap of $45.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.69, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.72. 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 (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 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 business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the 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 owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at $778,428.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value 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 $778,428.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Connections 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.