Somerville Kurt F Buys New Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Somerville Kurt F bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,725,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $697,519,000. Capital International Investors grew its position 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 worth $1,134,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $235,075,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $169.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $42.54 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average is $165.99 and its 200 day moving average is $163.11. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $188.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock worth $1,887,572 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

About Waste Connections

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.