Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 293,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 35,294 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $51,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.6% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.3% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.1% during the second quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 6,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $219.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.75.

Waste Connections Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of WCN opened at $165.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.65 and a twelve month high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.