Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec decreased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 32.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 379,181 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 179,509 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.15% of Waste Connections worth $67,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 3,885.7% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $192.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 587,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,236. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.65 and a 12 month high of $194.83. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $49.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $182.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.68.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

About Waste Connections

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.