Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Newly Acquired by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Key Points

• Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired 22,642 shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter, valued at approximately $3.5 million. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.61, compared with the stock’s reported price of $167.70.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in earnings per share and $2.56 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 6.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing a 0.8% yield.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,642 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,494,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 205.6% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 275 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Scotiabank set a $193.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen restated 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, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.61.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $167.70 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $160.83 and a 200-day moving average of $161.34. The company has a market capitalization of $42.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $179.74. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers through local operations and provides services under municipal and other contracted arrangements.

Its business includes curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, solid waste landfills, recycling facilities and organics processing. Waste Connections also provides environmental services for energy-producing customers, including the management and disposal of non-hazardous oilfield waste, and operates resource recovery and renewable energy projects in connection with certain waste facilities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections serves communities across the United States and Canada.

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