Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Waste Connections by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.29 million shares worth about $226.1 million.
• Wall Street remains mostly bullish on WCN, with an average analyst rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.35 after several firms reiterated or raised targets.
• Insider and financial updates were mixed: CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares, while the company reported Q1 EPS of $1.23, beating estimates even as revenue came in below expectations.

Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,288,466 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,841 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.50% of Waste Connections worth $226,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth $577,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,946,000 after purchasing an additional 24,948 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $337,708,000 after purchasing an additional 17,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $203.35.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WCN stock opened at $151.81 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $159.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.55. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.84 and a twelve month high of $197.35.

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 firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. 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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