Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stock holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. by 4.9%, now owning 66,622 shares worth approximately $13 million after selling 3,412 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts show optimism for Waste Connections, with four hold ratings, eleven buy ratings, and five strong buy ratings assigned, resulting in a consensus price target of $215.00.
• Waste Connections recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.26 with a yield of 0.68%.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,622 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,412 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $13,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 39.6% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 20,271 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,957,000 after buying an additional 5,746 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth approximately $678,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in Waste Connections by 10.0% during the first quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 331,088 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $63,841,000 after purchasing an additional 30,136 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 18.6% during the first quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 24.1% during the first quarter. Clarendon Private LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Melius Research raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. National Bank Financial raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.00.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WCN traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $186.64. 1,129,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,149,814. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.92. The firm has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.81%.

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.