Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,248 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for about 1.0% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $18,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $676,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WCN. CIBC reduced their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank cut 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.00.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $196.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $188.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.13. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $197.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

About Waste Connections

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.