Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,384 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $6,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Waste Connections by 153.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 890.0% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $221.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $212.29.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $179.85. 1,360,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,008,519. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.01, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.34. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.36 and a twelve month high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.85%.

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.