39,000 Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Acquired by Allianz SE

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 39,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,858,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $755,938,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at about $140,935,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Waste Connections by 55.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,603,000 after acquiring an additional 711,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Waste Connections by 14.0% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,217,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $975,190,000 after acquiring an additional 642,426 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $172.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.99 billion, a PE ratio of 41.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.62. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.65 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.04.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 33.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.75.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.