Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Red Spruce Capital LLC

Red Spruce Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $1,071,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Waste Connections by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 137,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,485,000 after acquiring an additional 16,073 shares during the last quarter. Thematics Asset Management grew its stake in Waste Connections by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 128,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,251,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in Waste Connections by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 212,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,841,000 after acquiring an additional 52,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,243.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE WCN traded down $1.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $176.41. 715,005 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 898,020. The company has a 50 day moving average of $181.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $45.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.28, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.12 and a 52-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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WCN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.53.

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.