The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $477.46 Million Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,669,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 244,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 1.03% of Waste Connections worth $477,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Trust boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 15.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 8.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.6 %

WCN stock opened at $192.84 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.15 and a fifty-two week high of $193.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.98, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $181.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.92.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 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.