PGGM Investments Has $44.68 Million Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

PGGM Investments raised its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 254,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the period. PGGM Investments owned about 0.10% of Waste Connections worth $44,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 0.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.1% in the second quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 6,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.74.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $167.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.06 and a 12-month high of $201.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.92.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections 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.