Aviva PLC Cuts Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Aviva PLC trimmed its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 59.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 187,116 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Connections worth $22,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE WCN opened at $188.07 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $188.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.31.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. CIBC decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.00.

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.