Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 23.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,094 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,205 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $240,422,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $225,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Waste Connections by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $105,727,000 after purchasing an additional 393,763 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN traded up $2.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $195.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,330,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,544. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.95. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $195.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $50.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.61, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

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.