Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys 1,961 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $18,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 567,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,472,000 after acquiring an additional 75,119 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 22.6% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 87,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,577,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,185,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 29.1% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 26,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,662,000 after buying an additional 5,869 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Waste Connections by 14.4% during the third quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WCN opened at $178.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.83. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.31 and a twelve month high of $187.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.12, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.32%.

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.