Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Sells 9,587 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lowered its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,936 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,587 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $11,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $950,055,000 after acquiring an additional 30,890 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,332,826 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $571,846,000 after purchasing an additional 29,542 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $478,777,000 after buying an additional 699,012 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $401,936,000 after buying an additional 309,619 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,036,856 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $349,483,000 after buying an additional 109,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN traded down $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $187.45. 816,354 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,813. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The company has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $184.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Company 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.