Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Lmcg Investments LLC

Lmcg Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,950 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up about 0.8% of Lmcg Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $12,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Accel Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at $221,000. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 92.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 7.9% during the first quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 1,022.7% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 94,170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,381,000 after purchasing an additional 11,062 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WCN. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.23.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $191.55 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.20 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The stock has a market cap of $49.49 billion, a PE ratio of 80.15, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $194.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.53.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.85%.

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.