Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Position Lowered by DF Dent & Co. Inc.

DF Dent & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,288,363 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 22,026 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for approximately 2.8% of DF Dent & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. DF Dent & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Waste Connections worth $221,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $687,935,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $240,422,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $478,777,000 after buying an additional 699,012 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 239.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 647,727 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $115,558,000 after acquiring an additional 457,137 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN traded up $3.35 on Tuesday, hitting $188.10. 589,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 943,175. The business's 50 day moving average price is $188.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.35. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66. 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 capitalization of $48.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.00.

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.