Jennison Associates LLC Raises Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,184 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 317,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,565,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 11.0% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,408,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $417,385,000 after acquiring an additional 142,751 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $189.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $49.00 billion, a PE ratio of 52.16, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $181.07 and its 200 day moving average is $177.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.15 and a 52 week high of $190.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WCN. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

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.