T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $1.05 Billion Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,096,276 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 38,791 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.36% of Waste Connections worth $1,046,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $687,935,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,231,368,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269,652 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $240,422,000. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Waste Connections by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,020,672,000 after buying an additional 899,058 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.57.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded down $0.61 on Monday, reaching $193.86. The company had a trading volume of 441,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,326. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.09 billion, a PE ratio of 81.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business's 50-day moving average is $190.88 and its 200 day moving average is $185.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date 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.