Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $191.06 Million Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,146,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $191,057,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.46% of Waste Connections at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,983,500,000 after buying an additional 106,763 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $1,061,947,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,042 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.7%

WCN stock opened at $167.32 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $185.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.25 and its 200-day moving average is $163.12. The firm has a market cap of $42.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WCN. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.