Truist Financial Corp Sells 413 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,722 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 413 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 20.5% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,516,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,302 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $522,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,418 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 35.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,436,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,336,000 after acquiring an additional 631,724 shares in the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 35.8% during the third quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 2,057,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,272,000 after acquiring an additional 542,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 32.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,840,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $261,054,000 after acquiring an additional 454,508 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $164.18 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $167.81 and its 200-day moving average is $152.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.