Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 228,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,602 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $35,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $283,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 9.7% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 12,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 4.3% during the third quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 206,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,883,000 after buying an additional 8,526 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 22.7% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 13,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after buying an additional 2,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $191.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $165.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $195.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.3850 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 31.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP James Little sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.22, for a total transaction of $370,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 32,395 shares in the company, valued at $6,000,201.90. This represents a 5.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, valued at $122,262.38. This represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,960,235 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays reissued a “positive” rating and set a $189.00 price target (up from $187.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $218.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price (up from $195.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.22.

About Waste Connections

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.