Vanguard Group Inc. Has $5.76 Billion Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,867,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 620,600 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.95% of Waste Connections worth $5,764,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 122.0% in the first 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 during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 994.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 83.3% during the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.8%

WCN opened at $172.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.78, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.09. 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $208.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.