Choate Investment Advisors Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Choate Investment Advisors raised its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,862 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,338 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors' holdings in Waste Connections were worth $16,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WCN. CIBC reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

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Waste Connections Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of WCN stock traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $189.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 757,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,329. The stock has a market cap of $49.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.49, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $185.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.57.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. 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

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.