Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 912,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 59,230 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $156,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $687,935,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $240,422,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $478,777,000 after purchasing an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,727,000 after purchasing an additional 393,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $192.80 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $187.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.89. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.34 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $49.81 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

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.