TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 19,985 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 577,334 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,985 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for about 1.5% of TimesSquare Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned 0.22% of Waste Connections worth $103,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,498,983 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,902,110,000 after acquiring an additional 88,137 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after buying an additional 178,870 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $417,385,000 after buying an additional 142,751 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,690,733 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $296,510,000 after buying an additional 71,681 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $2.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $184.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 869,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,474. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $180.75 and a 200-day moving average of $176.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.56, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.31 and a 12-month high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 34.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.56.

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.