Millennium Management LLC Sells 177,054 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Millennium Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 512,218 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 177,054 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.20% of Waste Connections worth $87,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $191.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,286,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 993,355. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $192.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. 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 $49.59 billion, a PE ratio of 80.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WCN. StockNews.com lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.21.

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.