EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 5,674 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,674 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $946,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,519,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $235,075,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,370,000 after buying an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.2%

Waste Connections stock opened at $169.81 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.13. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $188.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

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.