Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 53,436 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 53,436 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.12% of Waste Connections worth $51,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,293,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,025,836,000 after purchasing an additional 174,121 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $687,935,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,983,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $683,430,000 after acquiring an additional 310,449 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,698,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $634,200,000 after purchasing an additional 65,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Waste Connections by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,332,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,846,000 after purchasing an additional 29,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $193.11 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $189.24 and a 200-day moving average of $183.54. The company has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Four research 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, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.43.

Waste Connections Company 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.