Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Holdings Lowered by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC cut its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 11.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 117,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,338 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $18,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 205.6% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Connections from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $176.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $155.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 708,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,861. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $162.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.40. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $179.74. The company has a market capitalization of $39.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers through local operations and provides services under municipal and other contracted arrangements.

Its business includes curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, solid waste landfills, recycling facilities and organics processing. Waste Connections also provides environmental services for energy-producing customers, including the management and disposal of non-hazardous oilfield waste, and operates resource recovery and renewable energy projects in connection with certain waste facilities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections serves communities across the United States and Canada.