Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 493 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 19.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at $308,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 12.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,508 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 93.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $187.56 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.31 and a fifty-two week high of $187.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.92, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.30.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

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.