LPL Financial LLC Acquires 9,240 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,564 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,240 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,422,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Waste Connections by 35.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $66,387,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 58.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 657,791 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $117,626,000 after buying an additional 241,707 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN traded down $1.00 on Thursday, hitting $191.90. 1,657,582 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 960,345. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $189.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.62. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66. The firm has a market cap of $49.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.43.

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.