Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $25.77 Million Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 40.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,403 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,961 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $25,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $986,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $806,000. Sycomore Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,826 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,646,000 after buying an additional 11,110 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,439 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other 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 transaction of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.8 %

Waste Connections stock traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $163.36. 776,582 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 919,654. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.04, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $167.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.80. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WCN. Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. 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 report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.33.

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.