Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,839 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,190 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $15,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth $4,202,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 40.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,806 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,297,000 after acquiring an additional 11,774 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $451,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 86.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,932 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 5,078 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WCN. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $2.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $192.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,256,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,578. The stock has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.92. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $132.15 and a one year high of $193.06.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

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

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.