Mariner LLC Acquires 3,042 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Mariner LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,190,000 after buying an additional 77,466 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 785.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 4,153 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 129,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,178,000 after acquiring an additional 22,310 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,036,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $349,483,000 after purchasing an additional 109,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $197.32 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $190.18 and its 200 day moving average is $184.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.43.

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.