Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 44.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,081 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $517,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 47,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,214,000 after acquiring an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 28,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,852 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $221.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. National Bank Financial raised Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. William Blair started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Melius Research raised Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $213.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.29.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $190.60 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.51 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The firm has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.75, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $193.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

Waste Connections Company 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.