253,557 Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment Corp. acquired 253,557 shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter, valued at approximately $42.3 million, giving it a 0.10% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 86.09% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Waste Connections carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $200.89. TD Cowen raised its target to $210, while CIBC reiterated an outperform rating.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS versus the $1.35 estimate and $2.56 billion in revenue, up 6.4% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annualized yield.

Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 253,557 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $42,265,000. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.10% of Waste Connections at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WCN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $169.81 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $188.09.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections 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 transaction of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.

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