HB Wealth Management LLC Acquires 3,544 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,544 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth about $164,870,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,519,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $589,671,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $510,526,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction 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 represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $164.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $41.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.11. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $181.28.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

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.