Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,844 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $240,422,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 432.6% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,078,000 after buying an additional 1,022,851 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 35.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $478,777,000 after buying an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 199.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,727,000 after buying an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $189.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.03 billion, a PE ratio of 79.49, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.34 and a twelve month high of $194.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $185.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

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.