Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Stock Holdings Decreased by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Waste Connections stake by 20.8% in the first quarter, selling 699,774 shares and retaining 2.67 million shares valued at approximately $433.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.09% of the company.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with Waste Connections holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $202.42, above its reported share price of $167.54.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS and $2.56 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 6.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 0.8%.

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 20.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,669,108 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 699,774 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.05% of Waste Connections worth $433,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trium Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,995,000. Nicholas Company Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 449,112 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $78,756,000 after buying an additional 109,950 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 669,442 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $117,394,000 after buying an additional 7,866 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Waste Connections by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd now owns 56,620 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,754,000 after buying an additional 12,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,140 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,546,000 after buying an additional 8,363 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waste Connections from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $167.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.28 billion, a PE ratio of 40.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $162.57 and a 200-day moving average of $163.25. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $191.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

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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