Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 309,619 shares during the period. Waste Connections comprises approximately 4.2% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $401,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1,300.5% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,412,000 after acquiring an additional 12,524 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 10.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 123,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,171,000 after acquiring an additional 12,187 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 564,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $100,983,000 after acquiring an additional 22,500 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 554,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,121,000 after acquiring an additional 8,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 12.4% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 577,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $103,340,000 after acquiring an additional 63,794 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $189.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.07 and a 200-day moving average of $177.56. The firm has a market cap of $48.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.15 and a 1-year high of $190.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WCN. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently 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.