Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 131 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 5.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 9.2% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $501,000. Traynor Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $166.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $173.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.03. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 38.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.87.

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.