Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 51,337 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,557,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth about $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,983,500,000 after buying an additional 106,763 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,061,947,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $835,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.89.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock opened at $169.81 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.17. The company has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.92, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $188.09.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.73%.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections NYSE: WCN is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company's operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.

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