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

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 about 0.11% of Waste Connections worth $49,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Waste Connections by 153.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $2.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $197.26. 1,968,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,010,369. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $194.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.37. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.13 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The company has a market capitalization of $50.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.23.

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.