Argent Capital Management LLC Has $66.14 Million Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Argent Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 369,881 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,578 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up approximately 1.8% of Argent Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Argent Capital Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Waste Connections worth $66,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,498,983 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,902,110,000 after acquiring an additional 88,137 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 178,870 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Waste Connections by 8.3% during the first quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,516,867 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $432,926,000 after acquiring an additional 193,787 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in Waste Connections by 0.7% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,189,251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $384,268,000 after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Waste Connections by 4.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,690,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $296,510,000 after acquiring an additional 71,681 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $1.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $178.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,203,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 882,432. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $187.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $182.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.05. The stock has a market cap of $46.07 billion, a PE ratio of 57.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total value of $358,260.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WCN. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.19.

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.