UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Decreases Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 980,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 168,983 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Waste Connections worth $175,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Waste Connections by 17.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 169,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,260,000 after buying an additional 25,409 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 49.4% in the 3rd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 7,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,381 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $552,000. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,265,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $359,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $192.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.65 and a twelve month high of $194.83. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.31 and a 200 day moving average of $178.59.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

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.