Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 21,055 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21,055 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $24,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 9,061,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,293,015,000 after acquiring an additional 372,643 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $1,182,897,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 143.0% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,298,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $737,134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117,861 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Waste Connections by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,242,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $749,943,000 after buying an additional 169,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $602,107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.02% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $134.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.83 and a 12-month high of $146.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $135.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.10. The company has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The business services provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 13.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.07.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.