Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Purchased by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,370 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,016 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after purchasing an additional 178,870 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $950,055,000 after buying an additional 30,890 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 699,012 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $417,385,000 after buying an additional 142,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $401,936,000 after acquiring an additional 309,619 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE WCN traded down $4.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $186.25. 601,260 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 883,666. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $183.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.06 billion, a PE ratio of 52.20, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.25 and a 1-year high of $194.83.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.40.

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.