Mary Anne Whitney Sells 16,300 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Stock

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $179.49 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $173.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.28, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $182.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $242,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 116,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,270,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $5,214,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $246,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.28.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.