Toronto Dominion Bank Grows Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 58.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 657,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 241,707 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.25% of Waste Connections worth $117,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after purchasing an additional 178,870 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $950,055,000 after purchasing an additional 30,890 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Waste Connections by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in Waste Connections by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $417,385,000 after buying an additional 142,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $401,936,000 after purchasing an additional 309,619 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $185.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.25 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $183.62 and a 200-day moving average of $179.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James lowered 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.40.

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.