Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,918 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,798 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $6,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 86.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,932 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 5,078 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $359,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.3% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,799 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $1,998,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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Waste Connections Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $11.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $188.07. 3,261,052 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 936,869. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $188.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.24. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 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 anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.00.

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.