Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 39,350 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 35.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 151,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,350 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $24,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at about $577,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in 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 worth $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during 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 own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Three investment 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, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the 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 transaction, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $168.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $157.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.94. 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 $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. 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.