Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 22,212 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 83.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,212 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in 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 worth $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in 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 worth $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,150 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $154.76 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $157.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.94. 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 one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $191.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.84.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. The trade was 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 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.