Swiss National Bank Grows Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 751,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $122,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth about $577,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Waste Connections by 12.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,946,000 after acquiring an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at about $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,708,000 after purchasing an additional 17,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $170.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.49. 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 $146.89 and a 1-year high of $191.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $160.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.39.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.00.

Waste Connections 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.