Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Stock Position Lowered by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 62.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 204,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 345,258 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $35,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. CIBC lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $190.88 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.87, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.