Achmea Investment Management B.V. Acquires 1,072 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,503,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 34.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,190,000 after acquiring an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 785.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 6.7% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 722,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $129,184,000 after acquiring an additional 45,215 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $185.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.54. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

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.