Sands Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Sands Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 965,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 217,314 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $169,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,519,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Waste Connections by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake 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 period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1%

WCN stock opened at $155.88 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $192.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $157.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.