Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $615.28 Million Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in Waste Connections to 3,508,405 shares (about $615.28 million), representing 1.37% of the company after a 5.7% lift in the fourth quarter.
• Waste Connections beat Q1 EPS estimates ($1.23 vs. ~$1.19) but missed on revenue and saw net profit decline year-over-year amid margin pressure; management reaffirmed 2026 free-cash-flow guidance of $1.4–$1.45 billion and expects roughly $100M of M&A closings by late Q2/early Q3.
• Analysts remain broadly positive—several firms raised price targets (JPMorgan to $210) and the consensus rating is a "Buy" with an average price target of about $203.15.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,508,405 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 190,123 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 1.37% of Waste Connections worth $615,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $783,218,000 after buying an additional 1,264,150 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,078,536,000 after buying an additional 918,245 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,552,682,000 after buying an additional 717,440 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $350,603,000 after acquiring an additional 711,990 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 31.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,263,918 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $222,197,000 after acquiring an additional 301,389 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Connections this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on WCN to $210 and moved to an "overweight" rating, implying substantial upside vs. current levels. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects roughly $100M of M&A revenue to close by end of Q2 or early Q3 and reaffirmed 2026 free cash flow guidance of $1.4B–$1.45B — supports the company’s cash-generation story and buyout/investment optionality. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings: WCN reported EPS of $1.23, beating consensus (~$1.19), reinforcing underlying profitability per-share despite cost/mix headwinds. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share (record May 6, payable May 21); yield is modest (~0.8%) and unlikely to materially change investor stance. (Company announcement)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call and deep-dive coverage highlight pricing actions, AI initiatives and special-waste campaign results — strategic positives but with timing/scale uncertainty. Article Title Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Net profit fell to US$219.3M in Q1 from US$241.5M a year ago and management discussed margin pressure — investors may be worried about near-term margin compression and revenue mix. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $203.15.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $165.80 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $42.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.44, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.90 and a 12 month high of $199.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $164.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.15%.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections NYSE: WCN is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company's operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.

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