Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 22,500 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 564,335 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 22,500 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.22% of Waste Connections worth $100,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. American Trust boosted its position in Waste Connections by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 15.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 852 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $193.25 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.15 and a twelve month high of $194.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.46 and a 200 day moving average of $178.11. 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 company has a market capitalization of $49.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Raymond James dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.56.

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.