Cumberland Partners Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 37.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,100 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 230,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,362,000 after acquiring an additional 15,857 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,084,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth approximately $711,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,817 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WCN shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.87.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WCN stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $166.17. 880,728 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 899,341. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02. The company has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $168.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.73.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.51%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.