iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 56.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 234,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,040 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises about 0.7% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $40,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 982.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 109,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,563,000 after purchasing an additional 99,295 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 45,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,122,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 78,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,010,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:WCN opened at $190.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $49.23 billion, a PE ratio of 79.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.57. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.34 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

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.