California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 17,242.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 48,936,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,654,179 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.19% of Waste Connections worth $8,157,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. XXEC Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,870,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth approximately $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth approximately $697,519,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $589,671,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $510,526,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE WCN opened at $163.15 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $167.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $179.74.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

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.