Danske Bank A S Makes New $33.01 Million Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 198,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,011,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $577,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position 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 worth $40,946,000 after purchasing an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.9% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 17,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.89.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of WCN stock opened at $169.10 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $42.54 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $188.75.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

About Waste Connections

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.