Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,503,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 785.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 722,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $129,184,000 after purchasing an additional 45,215 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $189.98 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $185.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.62. The stock has a market cap of $49.03 billion, a PE ratio of 79.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. CIBC dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections 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.