Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,637,000 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 company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 29,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,014,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $189.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.38, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.30. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.34 and a twelve month high of $194.83. 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 (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WCN. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.