Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 22,212 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 83.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,212 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $577,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 12.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,946,000 after acquiring an additional 24,948 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,572,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,708,000 after acquiring an additional 17,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased 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 owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $154.76 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $157.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.94. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $191.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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