Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 398 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 398 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $189.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.38, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $181.01 and a 200 day moving average of $182.29.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WCN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. CIBC dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections 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.