Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Acquires 8,549 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 554,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,549 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.21% of Waste Connections worth $99,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Natixis purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $360,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth $266,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in Waste Connections by 438.5% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 535,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $92,106,000 after purchasing an additional 436,041 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 51.9% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 710,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $122,290,000 after purchasing an additional 242,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 42.2% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.5 %

WCN stock opened at $189.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.15 and a 12 month high of $190.77. The company has a market capitalization of $49.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Company 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.