Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,420 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up about 1.1% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $17,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after purchasing an additional 178,870 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $950,055,000 after purchasing an additional 30,890 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $417,385,000 after purchasing an additional 142,751 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,936,000 after acquiring an additional 309,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,037,000 after acquiring an additional 602,055 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $191.54 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.62, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.25 and a twelve month high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

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.