Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Acquires 1,423 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd boosted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. CIBC decreased their target price 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. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $190.88 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $185.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $49.26 billion, a PE ratio of 79.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Equities analysts predict 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 dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.