Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $3.58 Million Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Wealthfront Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,391 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,696 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 25,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 26,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 5,155 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,508,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $615,278,000 after purchasing an additional 190,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $161.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.55. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.90 and a 1-year high of $199.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $164.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.58.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Connections from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.35.

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.