Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Sells 164 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV trimmed its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $592,392,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in Waste Connections by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 374,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,858,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 114.2% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 4,907 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 74,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sycomore Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 11,110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN traded up $2.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $177.08. 277,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 894,000. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.93. The firm has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $177.25.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $899,249. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $752,385. 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.