Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 12.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 50,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $9,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $175.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.22. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.13%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at $214,243.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total value of $358,260.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections 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.