Blair William & Co. IL Has $14.03 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Blair William & Co. IL lessened its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,625 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $14,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $192.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, CIBC reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Company 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.