Candriam S.C.A. Sells 116,847 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 116,847 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.12% of Waste Connections worth $53,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Waste Connections by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WCN. CIBC cut 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. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $190.12 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.49. The company has a market cap of $49.06 billion, a PE ratio of 79.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 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.