Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Holdings Lessened by Baskin Financial Services Inc.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 277,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,719 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up about 3.4% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $42,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Waste Connections by 0.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,983,500,000 after purchasing an additional 106,763 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,061,947,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,724,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $604,573,000 after buying an additional 1,219,056 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $510,526,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $477,944,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WCN. Raymond James Financial set a $189.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $193.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.61.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:WCN traded down $2.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $165.47. 399,525 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,551,737. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $179.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers, offering scheduled and on-demand collection as well as waste management solutions tailored to municipalities and businesses.

Its operations include local collection fleets, transfer stations, recycling and resource-recovery facilities, and landfills. Waste Connections also provides non-hazardous oilfield waste services, including the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste generated by energy-production activities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections has grown through a combination of internal development and acquisitions.