Fiera Capital Corp Buys 70,396 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,764,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,396 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up approximately 1.5% of Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $485,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,370,000 after buying an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. Capital International Sarl raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 5,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 3,103 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 161,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,276,000 after buying an additional 39,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,347. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $155.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.71. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $193.08.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.35.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.