Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,094 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,911 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Waste Connections worth $48,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,810 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,320 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,688 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,304 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WCN traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $189.08. 1,261,705 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 988,590. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $179.39 and a 200-day moving average of $181.54. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.00.

About Waste Connections

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.