L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,178 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accel Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter valued at $221,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 92.8% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1,022.7% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 94,170 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,381,000 after purchasing an additional 11,062 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 692,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,002,831. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.20 and a 12 month high of $201.66. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $49.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $194.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.57.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued 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 Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.23.

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.