Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,420 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $191.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a P/E 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

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

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.