Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Purchased by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 51.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,936 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,566 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,293,002 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,025,836,000 after purchasing an additional 174,121 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $687,935,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Waste Connections by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,983,165 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $683,430,000 after acquiring an additional 310,449 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,698,507 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $634,200,000 after acquiring an additional 65,795 shares during the period. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,332,826 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $571,846,000 after acquiring an additional 29,542 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.00.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $11.88 on Friday, hitting $188.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,261,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,869. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a PE ratio of 78.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $188.60 and a 200 day moving average of $183.24.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 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.