Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 160,024 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,254,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 160,024 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $220,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after buying an additional 717,440 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Waste Connections by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,217,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $975,190,000 after purchasing an additional 642,426 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $755,938,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 3.4% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,995,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $746,054,000 after purchasing an additional 132,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,474,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $610,853,000 after purchasing an additional 35,720 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.75.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.2%

WCN opened at $167.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.71 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.80 and a 200-day moving average of $172.04. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.65 and a 52 week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.