Fiera Capital Corp Sells 51,620 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Fiera Capital Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,280,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 51,620 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises approximately 1.2% of Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $390,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 47,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 508,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,471,000 after buying an additional 65,844 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Paladin Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 2,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Sycomore Asset Management lifted its position in Waste Connections by 80.8% during the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 117,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,114,000 after acquiring an additional 52,372 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WCN. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.06.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $189.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $48.91 billion, a PE ratio of 52.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.07 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.43.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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 $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.62%.

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.