Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $1.87 Million Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 54.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,738 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after buying an additional 717,440 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 17.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,536,000 after acquiring an additional 918,245 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,150 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,995,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $746,054,000 after acquiring an additional 132,455 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,474,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,853,000 after acquiring an additional 35,720 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WCN. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $183.00 price target (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 target price on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.52.

Waste Connections Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $161.90 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.25 and its 200-day moving average is $170.30. The stock has a market cap of $41.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.90 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 33.57%.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.