Sei Investments Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,756 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,505 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.06% of Waste Connections worth $24,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,715,923 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $856,641,000 after buying an additional 509,929 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Waste Connections by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $651,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,933 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Waste Connections by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,104,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $612,605,000 after purchasing an additional 280,275 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $592,392,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Waste Connections by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $522,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,418 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $182.32. 853,744 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 897,894. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a PE ratio of 59.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.72. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $170.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.89. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.12 and a 52-week high of $182.42.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $169,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,249. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $899,249. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.53.

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.