Visualize Group LP Purchases Shares of 181,989 Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Visualize Group LP bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 181,989 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $31,226,000. Waste Connections accounts for approximately 19.8% of Visualize Group LP's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Visualize Group LP owned approximately 0.07% of Waste Connections at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,293,002 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,025,836,000 after buying an additional 174,121 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Waste Connections by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,644,222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,481,041,000 after acquiring an additional 356,798 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Waste Connections by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,231,368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269,652 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,736,179 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $984,214,000 after purchasing an additional 150,683 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $221.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.21.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.2 %

Waste Connections stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $198.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 703,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 972,467. The stock's fifty day moving average is $191.90 and its 200 day moving average is $185.61. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.85%.

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.