TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Buys 26,006 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 859,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,006 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $141,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1,166.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at $122,262.38. This represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE WCN opened at $166.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $182.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $168.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.05. The company has a market cap of $42.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

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.