California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Waste Connections stake by 48.65 million shares in the second quarter, bringing its ownership to 48.94 million shares, or 19.45% of the company valued at approximately $8.16 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Waste Connections holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $200.89, compared with a recent stock price of $163.15.
• Waste Connections beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS and $2.56 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year. The company also declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.9% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 17,242.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,936,350 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 48,654,179 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 19.45% of Waste Connections worth $8,157,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.0%

WCN stock opened at $163.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.89 and a 12 month high of $179.74. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $167.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 33.73%.

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.

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