Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 50.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 119,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 122,990 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for about 1.3% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $17,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 114.2% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 51.6% in 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 period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of 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 worth $28,787,000 after buying an additional 10,179 shares during the period. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 42.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC now owns 51,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,930,000 after buying an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,323,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $346,766,000 after buying an additional 75,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $165.18. 1,608,242 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 913,201. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $173.02. The company has a market capitalization of $42.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.92. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 9.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 38.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WCN shares. StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.