Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 185.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,634 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WCN. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings cut Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE WCN opened at $168.07 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $156.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $42.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $191.91.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

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.