GAMMA Investing LLC Has $179.30 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 19,519.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 918,564 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 913,882 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.36% of Waste Connections worth $179,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,293,002 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,025,836,000 after purchasing an additional 174,121 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,644,222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,481,041,000 after buying an additional 356,798 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,231,368,000 after buying an additional 2,269,652 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Waste Connections by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,020,672,000 after acquiring an additional 899,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,736,179 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $984,214,000 after acquiring an additional 150,683 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $192.51. 474,741 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,126,134. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.20 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.18 and a 200 day moving average of $187.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is presently 51.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.