Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 344,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,025 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for about 2.1% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned 0.13% of Waste Connections worth $51,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 74,995 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 214,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,787,000 after purchasing an additional 10,179 shares during the last quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC now owns 51,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,930,000 after acquiring an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Waste Connections by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,323,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $346,766,000 after acquiring an additional 75,992 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in Waste Connections by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,002,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $269,603,000 after acquiring an additional 59,361 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group cut Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $164.72. The stock had a trading volume of 678,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,684. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.50 billion, a PE ratio of 55.62, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.35 and a 200 day moving average of $150.63. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 9.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 38.51%.

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.