Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Trims Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Mufg Securities Canada LTD. reduced its stake in Waste Connections by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 38,020 shares and leaving it with 389,553 shares valued at about $68.3 million.
• Insiders also sold shares recently, including VP James Little and SVP Eric Hansen, with total insider sales of 17,605 shares worth about $2.8 million over the last quarter.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on WCN, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $202.84, while the stock recently traded at $155.88 after reporting better-than-expected quarterly EPS.

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. lowered its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 389,553 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 38,020 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for 1.9% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned 0.15% of Waste Connections worth $68,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,042 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 919 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network grew its stake in Waste Connections by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 2,459 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Waste Connections by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 607 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WCN. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $199.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Connections from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.84.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $155.88 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $39.55 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $157.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.89 and a 12 month high of $192.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

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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