Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 7,079 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 341,717 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,079 shares during the period. Waste Connections comprises 2.3% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.13% of Waste Connections worth $61,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 307.1% in 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. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 21,885 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,913,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,800,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,859 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 105,039 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN traded up $2.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.04. The stock had a trading volume of 785,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,557. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.31 and a 12 month high of $187.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.02. The firm has a market cap of $47.49 billion, a PE ratio of 50.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 31.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.56.

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.