HM Payson & Co. Buys 330 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 110.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 629 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $961,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 87,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,051,000 after acquiring an additional 9,374 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,422,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $387,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 582,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,896,000 after acquiring an additional 18,262 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $188.35 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $182.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The company has a market cap of $48.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.81, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted 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%. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

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.