Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Key Points

• Robeco Institutional Asset Management cut its position in Waste Connections by 29.9% in Q4, selling 12,508 shares and retaining 29,305 shares valued at $5.139 million.
• Waste Connections narrowly beat Q4 EPS estimates ($1.29 vs. $1.28) with revenue up 5% year-over-year to $2.35 billion, and analysts forecast roughly 5.28 EPS for the current year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35 (annualized $1.40, yield 0.9%), has a market cap of about $40.8 billion and a PE of 38.4, and carries an average analyst target of approximately $202.81 with a consensus "Buy" rating.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lowered its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,305 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,508 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $350,603,000 after purchasing an additional 711,990 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,675 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,780,000 after purchasing an additional 26,684 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 88,336 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,529,000 after purchasing an additional 29,925 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 770.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,519 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,112,000 after purchasing an additional 50,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,908,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $160.02 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.90 and a fifty-two week high of $199.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.37. The company has a market cap of $40.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.61.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down from $219.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $202.81.

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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