Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 16,300 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 16,300 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $19,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.35.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of WCN stock opened at $155.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.73. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $193.08. The firm has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,092.10. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Waste Connections

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.