Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Waste Connections, Inc. by 12.2%, bringing its total shares to 51,671 after selling 7,177 shares in the first quarter.
• Other investors significantly increased their stakes, with Ramirez Asset Management Inc. boosting holdings by 122% and Global Financial Private Client LLC by 890% during the same period.
• Waste Connections recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.29 EPS, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share to be paid on August 21st.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,671 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,177 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $10,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.6% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.2% in the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% in the first quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 29.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 28.9% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 290 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.6%

WCN stock traded down $3.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $187.55. 1,566,424 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,360. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.36 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.54. The company has a market capitalization of $48.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.81%.

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.