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

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 50.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 122,990 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up approximately 1.3% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $17,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.9% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.4% in the third quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,537 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 14.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 758 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WCN traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $165.18. 1,608,242 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 913,201. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.31 and its 200-day moving average is $151.92. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $173.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 9.51%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WCN. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.87.

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.