WCM Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

WCM Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,365,380 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,327,001 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up approximately 2.6% of WCM Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. WCM Investment Management LLC owned about 2.47% of Waste Connections worth $1,089,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $225,078,000 after buying an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted 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 purchasing an additional 699,012 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $351,037,000 after acquiring an additional 602,055 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 199.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $105,727,000 after buying an additional 393,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $189.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,217,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 931,911. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.07 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $179.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.43. The company has a market capitalization of $48.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.06.

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.