Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. trimmed its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 584 shares during the quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Waste Connections by 1,412.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 73,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,105,000 after purchasing an additional 68,584 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 7,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $479,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $189.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $179.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

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.