Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Purchased by Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 366,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,456 shares during the period. Waste Connections comprises approximately 2.4% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.14% of Waste Connections worth $62,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Waste Connections by 35.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $478,777,000 after purchasing an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 44.2% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after buying an additional 602,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Waste Connections by 199.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,727,000 after buying an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $187.71 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.58 and a 200-day moving average of $181.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $48.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.34 and a twelve month high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on WCN shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

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.