Cumberland Partners Ltd Reduces Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Cumberland Partners Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 37.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,100 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 20.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,516,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,920,302 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $522,988,000 after buying an additional 1,281,418 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,043,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $408,695,000 after buying an additional 23,801 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 8.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,010,159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $404,264,000 after buying an additional 236,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 35.0% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,436,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $319,336,000 after buying an additional 631,724 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WCN traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 880,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,341. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $173.02. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 56.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.27 and its 200 day moving average is $151.73.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC upped their price target 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 upped their price target 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. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered Waste Connections from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.87.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections 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 transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.