Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $55.72 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 37,885 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.13% of Waste Connections worth $55,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $592,392,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Waste Connections by 20.5% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,516,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,302 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,933 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $522,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 235.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,153,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,240,000 after buying an additional 809,914 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.94.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $175.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 56.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $177.25.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,286. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $752,385. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company 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.