EULAV Asset Management Reduces Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

EULAV Asset Management reduced its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 590,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for 2.8% of EULAV Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. EULAV Asset Management’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $103,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $697,519,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Waste Connections by 39.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,150 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 58.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,900,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $508,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,653 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Waste Connections by 17.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after acquiring an additional 918,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after acquiring an additional 717,440 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,347. The trade was a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.9%

WCN opened at $155.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $158.05 and a 200-day moving average of $165.73. The company has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $193.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Waste Connections Company 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.