Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,256 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 22,310 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Connections worth $22,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $41,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE WCN traded up $3.46 on Wednesday, reaching $175.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,059,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,392. 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's fifty day moving average is $181.52 and its 200 day moving average is $180.78. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.35 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.69.

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.