Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $6,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WCN. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1 %

WCN stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.66. 231,820 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 891,338. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.82, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.12 and a 52-week high of $179.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $899,249. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Waste Connections news, 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 value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at $1,341,390.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,249. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.