BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 59,561 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lessened its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 91.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 59,561 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,519,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Waste Connections by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,150 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 58.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,900,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $508,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,653 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Waste Connections by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $157.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $158.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.45, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $192.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.15%.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.