BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 63,794 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 577,899 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,794 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 0.22% of Waste Connections worth $103,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WCN shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $186.52 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.33 and a twelve month high of $188.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.32. The company has a market cap of $48.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

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.

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