Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 140,630 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 55.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,937 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 140,630 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $20,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 116.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% in the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE WCN traded down $2.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $175.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 780,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,559. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.13. 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 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $187.54. The stock has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is presently 34.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.56.

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.