T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Waste Connections by 20.4%, selling 1,246,398 shares and retaining approximately 4.85 million shares valued at $946.6 million.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors adjusted their stakes in Waste Connections, with Vanguard Group increasing its ownership by 3.3%, now holding over 30.2 million shares worth approximately $5.9 billion.
• Waste Connections recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315, translating to an annual yield of 0.7%, with the next payment scheduled for August 21st.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,849,878 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,246,398 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.88% of Waste Connections worth $946,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 122.0% during the first quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 890.0% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 232.3% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 128.6% in the 1st quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WCN stock traded down $1.7840 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $184.6960. The stock had a trading volume of 805,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,097,258. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.36 and a 12-month high of $201.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50-day moving average is $185.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 50.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WCN. Melius Research upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Melius assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

About Waste Connections

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.