Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Acquired by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,074 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 3,075 shares in the last quarter. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $580,000. RDA Financial Network boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 2,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 14,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,177 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Barclays set a $176.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $205.00 target price on Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.52.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $162.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.65 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.13 and a 200 day moving average of $171.28.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.57%.

Waste Connections Profile

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.