Sycomore Asset Management Buys 11,110 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sycomore Asset Management boosted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,826 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,110 shares during the period. Waste Connections comprises about 1.2% of Sycomore Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Sycomore Asset Management's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,516,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,302 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $522,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,418 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,043,138 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $408,695,000 after purchasing an additional 23,801 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,010,159 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $404,264,000 after purchasing an additional 236,518 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 35.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,436,123 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $319,336,000 after purchasing an additional 631,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.0 %

WCN traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $166.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,288,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,074. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $173.02. 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 $42.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.11, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $168.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.83.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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 payout ratio is presently 38.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WCN shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $181.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Waste Connections from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.87.

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.

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