Puzo Michael J Makes New $3.54 Million Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Puzo Michael J purchased a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,543,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $169.10 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $165.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.11. The stock has a market cap of $42.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $188.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was 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. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have 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.

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.