Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 180,900 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 94.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,061 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 180,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $195.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,205,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 976,242. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $191.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.09. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66. The firm has a market cap of $50.51 billion, a PE ratio of 81.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WCN. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.21.

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.