Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 449 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 114.2% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,895,000 after purchasing an additional 74,995 shares in the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management increased its position in Waste Connections by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after buying an additional 11,110 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Waste Connections by 5.0% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 214,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,787,000 after buying an additional 10,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Fox Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 42.1% in the third quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC now owns 51,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,930,000 after acquiring an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.5 %

WCN traded up $2.40 on Monday, reaching $166.58. 1,429,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 923,242. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $42.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.18. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WCN. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.33.

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.