Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Copeland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,237 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $15,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $697,519,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Waste Connections by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 39.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,150 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 58.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,900,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $508,600,000 after buying an additional 1,065,653 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $172.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $43.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $191.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. 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 Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.00.

Waste Connections Company 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.