Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 647 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 74,995 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Waste Connections by 5.0% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 214,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,787,000 after buying an additional 10,179 shares during the period. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 42.1% during the third quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC now owns 51,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,930,000 after buying an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,323,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $346,766,000 after acquiring an additional 75,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,002,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $269,603,000 after acquiring an additional 59,361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $166.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $168.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 9.51%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.51%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group downgraded Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.87.

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.