Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 14,315 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 193,195 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,315 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $33,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 86.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,932 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 5,078 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $451,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $50,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $196.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,101,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,283. 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 capitalization of $50.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.34 and a twelve month high of $197.75. The company's 50-day moving average is $187.47 and its 200-day moving average is $182.95.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WCN. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.43.

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.