Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 3,420 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing 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 period. Waste Connections comprises 1.1% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings, 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 SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $225,078,000 after buying an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 44.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $351,037,000 after acquiring an additional 602,055 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at about $64,176,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 252.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,477,000 after purchasing an additional 365,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $191.01. 763,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,540. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.25 and a 52 week high of $194.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.29 billion, a PE ratio of 52.62, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50 day moving average is $182.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Waste Connections'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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.