Findlay Park Partners LLP Makes New $214.33 Million Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,285,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,332,000. Waste Connections comprises approximately 2.9% of Findlay Park Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. XXEC Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $164,870,000. TRB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $226,000. Harber Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,100,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth approximately $984,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth approximately $42,265,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE WCN opened at $169.81 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $166.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $188.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.