Atria Investments Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Atria Investments Inc lessened its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 31.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,630 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Waste Connections by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $184.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. 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. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.34 and a twelve month high of $194.83.

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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

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.