Sit Investment Associates Inc. Grows Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,173 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $12,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after acquiring an additional 717,440 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 39.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,150 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $155.63 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $192.72. The company has a market cap of $39.49 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

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.