Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 74,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,398,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,983,500,000 after buying an additional 106,763 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Waste Connections by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,042 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,675,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $819,939,000 after acquiring an additional 220,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $697,519,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,811 shares of company stock worth $1,887,572. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $166.22 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $165.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.21. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $188.75. The company has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given 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 is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.