Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 267,399 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,651,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 267,399 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $254,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.1% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 1.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 3.9% during the third quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Athena Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $218.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up from $195.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.22.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $188.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.12. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $195.34.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is 34.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Matthew Black sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.60, for a total transaction of $1,986,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,874,918. The trade was a 25.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Derek Tan sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.77, for a total value of $186,770.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,455.08. This represents a 71.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,500 shares of company stock worth $2,960,235. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of non-hazardous solid waste services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, with operations across the United States and Canada, particularly in secondary markets and rural communities.

Its services include waste collection, transfer and disposal, as well as recycling and resource recovery. In select regions, Waste Connections also provides treatment, recovery and disposal services for waste generated by oil and gas exploration and production.

Founded in 1997, the company has grown through acquisitions and expansion of its operating network.