Legal & General Group Plc Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,288,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,841 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $226,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth about $577,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 12.8% during 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 increased its stake 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 period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in 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 worth $337,708,000 after purchasing an additional 17,197 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $151.81 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $148.84 and a one year high of $197.35. The company has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a PE ratio of 37.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.52.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.35.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.