Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 912,986 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 59,230 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.35% of Waste Connections worth $156,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 34.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 785.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.7% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 722,426 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $129,184,000 after acquiring an additional 45,215 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.4% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 72,189 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,909,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 129,256 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,178,000 after purchasing an additional 22,310 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. CIBC cut their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued 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 $204.00.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN traded up $0.24 on Wednesday, reaching $196.75. 1,470,146 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 920,342. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $197.74. The firm has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a PE ratio of 82.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. 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 (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

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.