Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Purchased by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,983,165 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 310,449 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.54% of Waste Connections worth $683,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 401,328 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $68,695,000 after purchasing an additional 123,016 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 254,760 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,676,000 after buying an additional 46,150 shares during the period. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $1,316,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in Waste Connections by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 124,320 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,331,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $434,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $196.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,470,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 921,371. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current 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 $197.74. The company has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a PE ratio of 82.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.13.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.00.

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.