Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Cuts Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 114.2% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,895,000 after buying an additional 74,995 shares during the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,646,000 after buying an additional 11,110 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Waste Connections by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 214,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,787,000 after acquiring an additional 10,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Fox Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC now owns 51,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,930,000 after acquiring an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE WCN traded up $2.40 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $166.58. 1,429,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 923,242. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.98 billion, a PE ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WCN shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group downgraded Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.33.

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.