Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Makes New Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.33.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $165.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $42.70 billion, a PE ratio of 53.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.