Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 89,598 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,319,916 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 89,598 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises about 0.9% of Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned about 0.51% of Waste Connections worth $226,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE WCN traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $195.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,205,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,358. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The company has a market capitalization of $50.51 billion, a PE ratio of 81.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $191.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.16.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 51.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WCN. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.21.

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.