Sei Investments Co. Decreases Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sei Investments Co. lowered its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 62.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,052 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 345,258 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.08% of Waste Connections worth $35,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 153.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

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Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock traded down $1.13 on Wednesday, reaching $191.77. 389,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 881,462. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.34 and a twelve month high of $194.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $186.24 and a 200-day moving average of $182.72. The firm has a market cap of $49.49 billion, a PE ratio of 80.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.72%.

Waste Connections Company 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.