Natixis Advisors L.P. Boosts Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 219,028 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,347 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.09% of Waste Connections worth $32,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 1.4% in the third quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,537 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 14.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 758 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 12,654 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections 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 transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Waste Connections from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of WCN stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $164.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 722,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,834. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $167.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.18. 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 company has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.01%.

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.