Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 6,593 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,632 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,593 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $11,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.3 %

Waste Connections stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $190.97. The stock had a trading volume of 540,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,415. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.25 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $182.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders 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. 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 34.62%.

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.