Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 98 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,268 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 2,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 26,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,556,000 after purchasing an additional 24,042 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 237.1% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 208,817 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,822,000 after purchasing an additional 146,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.2%

WCN stock opened at $186.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.14. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66. The stock has a market cap of $48.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.21.

Waste Connections 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.