Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd Has $571.85 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,332,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,542 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises approximately 3.1% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $571,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,387,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 102,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 44,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,500,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $164,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 584,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $100,310,000 after acquiring an additional 17,174 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.00.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:WCN opened at $188.08 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The company has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a PE ratio of 78.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $180.46 and a 200-day moving average of $182.19.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. As a group, equities research 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.72%.

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.