Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 43.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 361,822 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 275,704 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Waste Connections worth $54,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,714 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,835 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 10.4% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,202 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 39.5% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,747 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 3,328 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Waste Connections by 34.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 40,524 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,661,000 after purchasing an additional 10,473 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 133,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,661,000 after purchasing an additional 7,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WCN. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WCN traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $167.57. 479,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 894,629. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company's 50 day moving average is $166.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.69. The company has a market capitalization of $43.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.60, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

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.