Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,240 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,672 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $33,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $176.96. The stock had a trading volume of 554,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,540. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.64. The company has a market capitalization of $45.67 billion, a PE ratio of 48.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.31 and a 1 year high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This is a boost from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.32%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at $778,428.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $778,428.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $401,925.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,243.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections 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.