Man Group plc Takes $4.47 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Man Group plc established a new $4.47 million position in Waste Connections during the second quarter, purchasing 26,820 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 86.09% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $200.89, despite mixed revisions to individual targets.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.50 in EPS and $2.56 billion in revenue, while its $0.35 quarterly dividend represents an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Man Group plc bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 26,820 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,471,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XXEC Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position 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 valued at $1,983,500,000 after acquiring an additional 106,763 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position 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 valued at $1,134,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,921 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,061,947,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.89.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $166.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $167.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.05. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $185.33. The company has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.05, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given 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 0.8%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

About Waste Connections

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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