Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,720 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,374 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $15,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Waste Connections by 153.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.43.

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Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0 %

Waste Connections stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $183.18. 1,010,595 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,347. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.54. The company has a market cap of $47.27 billion, a PE ratio of 76.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 52.72%.

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.