Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 943 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 943 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Trust lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.7% during the second quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 1.4% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $182.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $187.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.11 billion, a PE ratio of 59.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.00.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total value of $358,260.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,805,272.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.