Tranquility Partners LLC Buys 118 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Tranquility Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Waste Connections by 20.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,516,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,302 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $602,107,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $522,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,418 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Waste Connections by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,043,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $408,695,000 after purchasing an additional 23,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,010,159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $404,264,000 after purchasing an additional 236,518 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business’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 transaction of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $164.72. 678,817 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,684. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.63. 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 company has a market cap of $42.50 billion, a PE ratio of 55.65, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.66. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WCN. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

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.