California State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 288,132 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,930 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.11% of Waste Connections worth $49,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,190,000 after buying an additional 77,466 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,737 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,025 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,601,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $2.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $197.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,968,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,352. The company has a market capitalization of $50.96 billion, a PE ratio of 82.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.35. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.13 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.23.

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.