Choate Investment Advisors Boosts Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 97,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,338 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Waste Connections were worth $16,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Waste Connections by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.2 %

WCN stock opened at $185.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $184.10 and a 200 day moving average of $182.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 77.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 research 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. CIBC lowered their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

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.