Norges Bank Takes $592.39 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,968,132 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $592,392,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.54% of Waste Connections at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Waste Connections by 14.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 758 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Waste Connections by 10.8% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 37,517 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,672 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $234,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $407,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Waste Connections by 6.8% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,055 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total value of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total value of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,402 shares of company stock valued at $735,976 over the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WCN traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $165.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 472,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,876. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $173.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.42 and a 200-day moving average of $155.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a PE ratio of 53.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $179.33.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.