Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Invests $2.31 Million in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,315,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 449,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,756,000 after buying an additional 109,950 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 669,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,394,000 after acquiring an additional 7,866 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Waste Connections by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd now owns 56,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,754,000 after acquiring an additional 12,680 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,546,000 after acquiring an additional 8,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $2,100,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $166.22 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $188.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $41.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.05, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $165.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.21.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid 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 is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 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.