Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 67.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,131 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 51,983 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Connections worth $23,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,503,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,408,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $192.47. 587,509 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 887,212. The firm's fifty day moving average is $182.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.59. The company has a market capitalization of $49.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.65 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

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.