Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Stock Holdings Lessened by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 545,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44,238 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.21% of Waste Connections worth $95,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in Waste Connections by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 30,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $680,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 541,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,978,000 after purchasing an additional 7,378 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,869,000 after purchasing an additional 14,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $932,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $177.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.25. The company has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.12 and a fifty-two week high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.28.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at $778,428.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at $778,428.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,805,272.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

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.