OneAscent Wealth Management LLC Makes New $204,000 Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $592,392,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 374,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,858,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 114.2% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 74,995 shares during the period. Finally, Sycomore Asset Management boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 11,110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $175.36 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $177.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.25 billion, a PE ratio of 56.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $899,249. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $899,249. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.94.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.