SEB Asset Management AB Purchases New Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 53,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,701,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1,166.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,200,347. The trade was a 31.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $168.04 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $160.53 and its 200 day moving average is $163.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $191.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.