12,740 Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Purchased by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,124,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $165.13 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $188.75.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. 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 Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

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.