Fmr LLC Reduces Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

FMR LLC lessened its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,736,674 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 577,051 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 1.84% of Waste Connections worth $812,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% in 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 period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WCN. CIBC cut their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.43.

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Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $2.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $194.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,469,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,439. The company has a market cap of $50.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $189.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 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%. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.72%.

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.