Toronto Dominion Bank Acquires 241,707 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 58.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 657,791 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 241,707 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned about 0.25% of Waste Connections worth $117,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $0.93 on Wednesday, hitting $184.86. The stock had a trading volume of 579,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,699. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.78 and a 200 day moving average of $179.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.22, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.55 and a twelve month high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.87.

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.