Raymond James & Associates Has $67.83 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 394,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,399 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.15% of Waste Connections worth $67,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.9% during the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.9% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the third quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,537 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $164.18. 722,254 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 924,834. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $167.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Waste Connections from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.33.

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.