CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 4,322 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 133,890 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,322 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.05% of Waste Connections worth $22,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 34.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 785.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 129,256 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,178,000 after acquiring an additional 22,310 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,036,856 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $349,483,000 after acquiring an additional 109,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $353,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded down $2.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $195.40. 2,362,427 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 973,570. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.48 billion, a PE ratio of 81.76, a PEG 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 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $201.97. The company's 50 day moving average price is $190.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.63.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.72%.

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.