Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Takes $29.60 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 182,252 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $29,604,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Waste Connections as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $169.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $42.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.21. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $191.91. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 33.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. 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 report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,000 shares of company stock worth $2,395,755 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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