Cerity Partners LLC Sells 435 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 435 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $387,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,600,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,176,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 6,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $182.83 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.32. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $47.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.24, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released 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 return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $213.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.57.

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.