Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Purchased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 518,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.20% of Waste Connections worth $90,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WCN. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 40.9% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,082,000 after buying an additional 3,448 shares in the last quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 12.6% during the second quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. now owns 5,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $1,220,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 3,885.7% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WCN shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $401,925.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,243.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $179.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.12 and a 52-week high of $187.54. The company has a market capitalization of $46.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $181.85 and a 200 day moving average of $173.38.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

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.