Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Purchased by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 202.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,787 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,420 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $12,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $1.70 on Friday, hitting $163.48. 1,086,551 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 794,367. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $173.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $168.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.20.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.