Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 47.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 483,263 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 444,814 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.19% of Waste Connections worth $82,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $687,935,000. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,231,368,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269,652 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $240,422,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 239.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 647,727 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $115,558,000 after purchasing an additional 457,137 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. CIBC lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.43.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WCN
Waste Connections Trading Up 1.5 %
Shares of Waste Connections stock traded up $2.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $194.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,469,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,439. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $189.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.76. The firm has a market cap of $50.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.34 and a 12-month high of $201.66.
Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Waste Connections Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.
Waste Connections Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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