Aviva PLC Decreases Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Aviva PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 59.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 129,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 187,116 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $22,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.00.

Waste Connections Stock Down 5.9 %

WCN opened at $188.07 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $188.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.31. The stock has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

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 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.