Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 676,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 40,937 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for approximately 1.1% of TCW Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. TCW Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Waste Connections worth $100,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Waste Connections by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,516,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $592,392,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Waste Connections by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $522,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,418 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Waste Connections by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,043,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $408,695,000 after acquiring an additional 23,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,010,159 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $404,264,000 after acquiring an additional 236,518 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.6 %

WCN stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.56. The company had a trading volume of 488,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 890,651. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.08. The company has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.75, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.94.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.