Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 8,187 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 114,875 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,187 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $20,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth about $28,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $167.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $162.06 and a one year high of $201.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $172.61 and its 200 day moving average is $176.92.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $211.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.74.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.