National Pension Service Sells 6,758 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

National Pension Service lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 371,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,758 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.14% of Waste Connections worth $50,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,154,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,669,438,000 after purchasing an additional 426,512 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Waste Connections by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,291,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,565,922,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,249 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,966,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,346,827,000 after purchasing an additional 981,635 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 193.6% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 8,643,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,184,447,000 after purchasing an additional 5,699,706 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management SA grew its position in Waste Connections by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 6,862,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $932,872,000 after purchasing an additional 23,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $135.04 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $132.74 and its 200 day moving average is $135.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $34.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.50 and a fifty-two week high of $148.20.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The business services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 1st were paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 28th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $154.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $152.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Waste Connections from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.75.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director William J. Razzouk sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.61, for a total value of $135,610.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $465,277.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director William J. Razzouk sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.61, for a total value of $135,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,431 shares in the company, valued at $465,277.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP James Little sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.87, for a total transaction of $611,415.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 29,410 shares in the company, valued at $3,995,936.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,700 shares of company stock worth $1,177,955. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Profile

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Waste Connections, Inc engages in the provision of non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, and disposal services. The firm offers its services to residential, commercial, landfill and transfer stations, and industries such as office, apartments multi-family, construction and demolition, property management, retail, restaurant, and manufacturing.