Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden cut its Waste Connections stake by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,300 shares and ending with 111,800 shares valued at about $19.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with several large investors including Norges Bank, Wellington Management, Goldman Sachs, Mackenzie Financial, and Vanguard all increasing or adding to their positions.
• Waste Connections reported Q1 earnings of $1.23 per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in below expectations; analysts currently have a Buy consensus with an average target price of $203.35.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,800 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 16,300 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $19,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $697,519,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Waste Connections by 39.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $783,218,000 after buying an additional 1,264,150 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 58.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Waste Connections by 17.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,078,536,000 after buying an additional 918,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,552,682,000 after buying an additional 717,440 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $155.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $193.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $158.05 and a 200-day moving average of $165.73.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 34.15%.

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.

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