Barclays PLC Has $38.69 Million Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Barclays PLC lessened its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 77,578 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.09% of Waste Connections worth $38,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $197.32 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $50.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.56, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.19.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.43.

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.