Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 8,472 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 52,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,472 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $9,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 worth $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after buying an additional 602,055 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $64,176,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 252.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,477,000 after acquiring an additional 365,487 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $54,800,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $192.84 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $181.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.92. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.15 and a 1-year high of $193.06. The firm has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a PE ratio of 52.98, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections 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.