Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Makes New $649,000 Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.6% in the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Waste Connections by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 407 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $166.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $167.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.13. The firm has a market cap of $41.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $185.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.