Nicholas Company Inc. Acquires 109,950 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Nicholas Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 449,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,950 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises approximately 1.4% of Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $78,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after acquiring an additional 717,440 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,536,000 after acquiring an additional 918,245 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,150 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,508,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $615,278,000 after acquiring an additional 190,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,474,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,853,000 after acquiring an additional 35,720 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock opened at $151.85 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.18. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.61 and a twelve month high of $198.00. The firm has a market cap of $38.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,347. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $183.00 price target (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price target on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.35.

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.