Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 1,281,418 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 57.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,281,418 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 1.36% of Waste Connections worth $522,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,537 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 11,699 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WCN. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Waste Connections from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.8 %

WCN stock traded down $1.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $165.79. The stock had a trading volume of 623,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 887,847. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $42.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $173.02. The company's 50 day moving average is $167.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.41.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio 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.