Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its Waste Connections stake by 20.9% in the first quarter, selling 64,878 shares and leaving it with 246,283 shares valued at about $40.0 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Waste Connections, with analysts assigning a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.79. Several firms recently raised targets, including JPMorgan to $210 and Goldman Sachs to $211.
• Waste Connections reported better-than-expected EPS of $1.23 in its latest quarter, though revenue of $2.33 billion fell short of estimates. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, yielding about 0.8% annually.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 246,283 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 64,878 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Waste Connections worth $40,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.79.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0%

WCN stock opened at $171.15 on Monday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $158.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $191.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 34.15%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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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