Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock: Insider Matthew Stephen Black Sells 11,000 Shares

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) SVP Matthew Black sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.60, for a total transaction of $1,986,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,874,918. This trade represents a 25.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Waste Connections Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of WCN stock traded up $3.96 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $188.04. 1,276,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,596,527. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $188.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.43.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 11.40%. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be given a $0.3850 dividend. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 31.32%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,983,500,000 after purchasing an additional 106,763 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $1,061,947,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Waste Connections by 48.7% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,724,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $604,573,000 after buying an additional 1,219,056 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $510,526,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $477,944,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up from $193.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $201.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.22.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers, offering scheduled and on-demand collection as well as waste management solutions tailored to municipalities and businesses.

Its operations include local collection fleets, transfer stations, recycling and resource-recovery facilities, and landfills. Waste Connections also provides non-hazardous oilfield waste services, including the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste generated by energy-production activities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections has grown through a combination of internal development and acquisitions.