Atria Investments Inc Has $2.06 Million Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,508 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 3,885.7% in the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $183.83 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.33 and a twelve month high of $188.30.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue 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. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six 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 MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

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.