Nordea Investment Management AB Cuts Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Nordea Investment Management AB decreased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,875 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,187 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $20,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 8.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 327,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,511,000 after acquiring an additional 26,205 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 23.0% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 0.4% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 28,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,045,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 29,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,237,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $207.74.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:WCN opened at $167.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $172.61 and a 200 day moving average of $176.92. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.06 and a 52 week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

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

Waste Connections 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.