Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Holdings Reduced by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 997,593 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 225,991 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.39% of Waste Connections worth $171,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $687,935,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,422,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $478,777,000 after purchasing an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 199.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $105,727,000 after purchasing an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $11.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $188.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,261,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,869. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $188.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

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 (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reiterated 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.00.

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.