Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,632 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,593 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $11,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after purchasing an additional 178,870 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $950,055,000 after buying an additional 30,890 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in Waste Connections by 6.5% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $417,385,000 after buying an additional 142,751 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 15.5% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,936,000 after buying an additional 309,619 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Waste Connections by 44.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after acquiring an additional 602,055 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WCN. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lowered 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $191.54 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $137.25 and a 52 week high of $194.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $182.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 52.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.62%.

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.