Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Stake Lessened by Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd

Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,819 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for 4.5% of Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $9,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the 4th 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.00.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $188.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $188.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.26. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a PE ratio of 78.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

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.