Wellington Management Group LLP Invests $477.94 Million in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,867,268 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $477,944,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $238,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,890,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $288,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,459,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.3%

WCN opened at $166.19 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a PE ratio of 40.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $185.33.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was 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 directly owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.89.

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.