KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 105,924 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,176,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CIBC lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded up $2.14 on Tuesday, reaching $193.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 891,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,689. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $185.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 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%. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.72%.

Waste Connections 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.