Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 2,108 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 17.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,108 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 577,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $103,340,000 after acquiring an additional 63,794 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,141,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $204,069,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860 shares during the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management raised its stake in Waste Connections by 22.6% in the third quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 585,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $104,643,000 after purchasing an additional 107,825 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 44.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after purchasing an additional 602,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth $260,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $192.84 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $181.22 and its 200 day moving average is $177.92. The company has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.98, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.15 and a twelve month high of $193.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

About Waste Connections

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.