Swiss National Bank Has $136.95 Million Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 765,845 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.30% of Waste Connections worth $136,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in Waste Connections by 438.5% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 535,471 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $92,106,000 after acquiring an additional 436,041 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth approximately $64,176,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 252.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $89,477,000 after purchasing an additional 365,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $54,800,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $186.01. 938,524 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,780. The company has a market capitalization of $48.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.33 and a 12 month high of $188.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $180.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.93.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Waste Connections's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $195.56.

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.