Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 14.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,223,584 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 211,439 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.47% of Waste Connections worth $223,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 2.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,586,000. TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 6.7% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 722,426 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $129,184,000 after purchasing an additional 45,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Waste Connections by 58.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 657,791 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $117,626,000 after purchasing an additional 241,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $4.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $179.95. 2,051,332 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 889,496. The company has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $144.69 and a one year high of $194.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $184.12 and a 200 day moving average of $180.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS 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 issued a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Five research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.88.

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.