Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Purchases 2,500 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 48.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $592,392,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $651,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,933 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $522,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,418 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 235.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,153,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,240,000 after acquiring an additional 809,914 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,188,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,438,000 after acquiring an additional 630,685 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen upped their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.28.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WCN traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $177.75. 962,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 908,256. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $173.02 and its 200-day moving average is $167.31. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $182.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

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.