Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,439 Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,439 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock opened at $183.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The company has a market cap of $47.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $183.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.54.

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Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued 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 0.69%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WCN. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.43.

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.

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