Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company has decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. by 9.2%, selling 242,810 shares during the first quarter, and now owns approximately 0.93% of the company worth $468.2 million.
• Recently, several institutional investors significantly increased their positions in Waste Connections, with Ramirez Asset Management raising by 122% and Larson Financial Group by 994.4%.
• Waste Connections reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.29, exceeding estimates, and had a revenue increase of 7.1% compared to the previous year.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,390,562 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 242,810 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.93% of Waste Connections worth $468,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 290 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.0%

Waste Connections stock traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $185.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 690,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,188. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $185.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.64, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.61.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%.The firm's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

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.