Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Purchases 5,633 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,633 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at $577,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 12.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,946,000 after acquiring an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.9% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,572,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at about $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,708,000 after acquiring an additional 17,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer 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. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $159.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.11. The stock has a market cap of $40.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $191.91.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.15%.

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.