Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,660 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,139 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 114.2% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 74,995 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 3.4% during 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 buying an additional 75,992 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $163.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.10. The stock has a market cap of $42.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.33.

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.