Waste Connections Senior Vice President of Operations Domenico Pio Sells 61% Of Holding

Some Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior Vice President of Operations, Domenico Pio, recently sold a substantial US$1.9m worth of stock at a price of US$193 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 61%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

View our latest analysis for Waste Connections

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Waste Connections

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & CFO, Mary Whitney, for US$2.9m worth of shares, at about US$178 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$186. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 25% of Mary Whitney's stake.

In the last year Waste Connections insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Waste Connections better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Waste Connections

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Waste Connections insiders own 0.3% of the company, currently worth about US$130m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Waste Connections Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Waste Connections stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Waste Connections. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Waste Connections and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But note: Waste Connections may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.