CIBC Asset Management Inc Trims Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

CIBC Asset Management Inc trimmed its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,962,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28,642 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for 0.8% of CIBC Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $345,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 555.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Four 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.35.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WCN stock opened at $148.93 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $195.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $158.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 34.15%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.