Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 11,787 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. by 11.0%, now owning 94,950 shares valued at approximately $18.5 million.
• Waste Connections reported $1.29 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.04, with a revenue rise of 7.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share with a 0.7% dividend yield, representing a payout ratio of approximately 50.81%.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,950 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,787 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for 1.0% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $18,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,901,049,000 after purchasing an additional 954,242 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 0.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,383,780 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,230,984,000 after buying an additional 18,400 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,020,672,000 after buying an additional 899,058 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,736,179 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $984,214,000 after acquiring an additional 150,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 5.8% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,575,547 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $892,023,000 after acquiring an additional 250,684 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WCN shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.6%

WCN traded down $3.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $187.55. 1,566,424 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,239,360. The company's fifty day moving average price is $186.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.46 billion, a PE ratio of 75.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.36 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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