Mariner LLC Increases Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 190,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,207,000 after buying an additional 19,496 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,586,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $188,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $197.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 82.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $190.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.32. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.43.

Waste Connections Profile

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.