Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 636 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $524,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $950,055,000 after purchasing an additional 30,890 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,332,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $571,846,000 after buying an additional 29,542 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of 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 worth $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 15.5% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $401,936,000 after acquiring an additional 309,619 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,036,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $349,483,000 after buying an additional 109,701 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $189.35 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one 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 company has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 79.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $185.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS 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, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 52.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted 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. Four research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.