Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Purchased by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 60.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 37,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,288 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $6,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 11,811 shares of company stock worth $1,887,572 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $164.37 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $191.00. The stock has a market cap of $41.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WCN. Barclays raised their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections 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.