Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 6,316 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,316 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter worth approximately $577,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 12.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,946,000 after buying an additional 24,948 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,572,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth approximately $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,708,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Trading Up 2.6%

WCN opened at $157.63 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $158.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.46. The company has a market capitalization of $39.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.45, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $192.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.