Rathbones Group PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Rathbones Group PLC cut its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 638,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30,834 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned about 0.25% of Waste Connections worth $103,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 2.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,364,000. Vestor Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 368.0% during the 1st quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 210,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,191,000 after acquiring an additional 8,437 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $167.54 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.23. The company has a market cap of $42.28 billion, a PE ratio of 40.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $191.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.63 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 33.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.42.

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.