Bamco Inc. NY Has $60.20 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Bamco Inc. NY trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 350,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY owned approximately 0.14% of Waste Connections worth $60,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $32,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $53,000. Sands Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $175.66. 1,140,068 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,511. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $45.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $182.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.92.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.00.

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.