JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,307,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 62,207 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $591,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $47,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $171.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.35 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.72. The company has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a PE ratio of 47.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.69.

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.