Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 835 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 835 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Waste Connections by 0.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.8 %

Waste Connections stock opened at $189.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.29. The company has a market cap of $48.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their price target 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 reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.43.

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.