Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 65,844 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 508,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,844 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $86,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 6.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Waste Connections by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 29,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,014,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $189.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $48.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.07, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $179.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.43. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.07 and a 1 year high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WCN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James cut their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.06.

Waste Connections 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.