Broderick Brian C Invests $972,000 in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Broderick Brian C purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $972,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WCN. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth about $8,701,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 751,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $122,048,000 after purchasing an additional 45,700 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter valued at about $306,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter worth about $2,485,000. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the first quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,351,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $172.01 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $159.79 and its 200 day moving average is $163.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $43.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $191.91.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.00.

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.