Somerville Kurt F Purchases Shares of 10,350 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Somerville Kurt F purchased a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,725,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Puzo Michael J bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at about $3,543,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth about $403,000. West Family Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth about $1,031,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $366,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WCN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed 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. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of WCN opened at $169.10 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $188.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $165.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 33.73%.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.