Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Purchased by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,577 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,406 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of Waste Connections worth $48,936,350 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 0.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,983,500,000 after purchasing an additional 106,763 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,134,781,000 after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $1,061,947,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $835,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $697,519,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, valued at $122,262.38. This represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $161.02. 374,260 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,532,072. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $40.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $179.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.99.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 33.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $204.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD Cowen restated 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.16.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc is an integrated solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services across the United States and Canada. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills and recycling facilities.

Its services include curbside and containerized waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, landfill disposal, and the management of non-hazardous oilfield waste.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.