Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 371,926 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Schroder Investment Management cut its Waste Connections position by 36.4% in Q3, selling 371,926 shares and leaving it with 649,117 shares worth about $113.14 million (≈0.25% of the company).
• Other large institutional moves included Vanguard increasing to 31.59 million shares, Mackenzie raising its stake by 14% to 5.22 million shares, and Norges Bank opening a new position worth roughly $755.9 million, leaving institutional ownership at about 86.09%.
• Analysts collectively rate WCN as a Buy with an average price target of $203.75; the stock trades near $171.71 (52-week range $155.65–$201.66), the company beat EPS estimates ($1.29 vs. $1.28) and declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend ($1.40 annualized, 0.8% yield).

Schroder Investment Management Group reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 649,117 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 371,926 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.25% of Waste Connections worth $113,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,217,973 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $975,190,000 after purchasing an additional 642,426 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $755,938,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Waste Connections by 3.4% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,995,575 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $746,054,000 after purchasing an additional 132,455 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,474,700 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $610,853,000 after purchasing an additional 35,720 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $176.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $203.75.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $171.71 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.65 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The stock has a market cap of $43.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $168.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 33.57%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.