Fred Alger Management LLC Has $13.28 Million Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Fred Alger Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,816 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $13,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WCN shares. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $192.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.65 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The company has a market cap of $49.67 billion, a PE ratio of 52.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $182.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.50.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

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.