GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Reduces Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,659 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $184.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $47.55 billion, a PE ratio of 77.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.53.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Company 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.