Insider Buying: Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) CEO Buys $7,612,000.00 in Stock

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) CEO Ronald Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $156.70 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.84 and a 52-week high of $198.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $40.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.28.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 2,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 607 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WCN. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.35.

About Waste Connections

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.