Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Has $51.38 Million Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,025 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up about 2.1% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $51,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Power Corp of Canada bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth about $84,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WCN. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.69.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.72. The stock had a trading volume of 678,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,684. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $173.02. The firm has a market cap of $42.50 billion, a PE ratio of 55.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 9.51%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 38.51%.

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.