Virtu Financial LLC Invests $666,000 in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $666,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 135 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 valued at approximately $36,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, 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. Three 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.84.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WCN opened at $153.45 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.21. The company has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 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, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.