Junto Capital Management LP Has $18.14 Million Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Junto Capital Management cut its Waste Connections stake by 69.8% in the second quarter, selling 251,630 shares and retaining 108,857 shares valued at approximately $18.14 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 86.09%, while analyst sentiment is favorable: Waste Connections has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $200.89.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.50 in earnings per share and $2.56 billion in revenue, up 6.4% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35, representing a 0.9% annualized yield.

Junto Capital Management LP decreased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 69.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,857 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 251,630 shares during the period. Junto Capital Management LP's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $18,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 17,242.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 48,936,350 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,157,200,000 after purchasing an additional 48,654,179 shares during the period. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $164,870,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $697,519,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $589,671,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WCN. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of 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 restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:WCN opened at $161.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $179.74. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $167.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other 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 value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

About Waste Connections

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.

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