Carderock Capital Management Inc. Sells 776 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Carderock Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 776 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises approximately 1.9% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,199,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 70,633 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,111,000 after buying an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Finally, Tuttle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $178.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.21 and a 200-day moving average of $180.76. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.51 and a 52 week high of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.03, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.76.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WCN. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. CIBC cut their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.75.

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.