Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 16,552 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 362,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,552 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up about 2.4% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $63,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allstate Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 96.2% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,780,000 after buying an additional 10,571 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,288,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $226,107,000 after purchasing an additional 33,841 shares during the period. Lathrop Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Lathrop Investment Management Co. now owns 1,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.35.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $155.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.84 and a 1 year high of $198.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.70.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.