Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 14,227 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 225,144 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,227 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Waste Connections worth $42,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WCN opened at $165.85 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.23. The company has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.27 and a twelve month high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Barclays reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $210.63.

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.