iA Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 43.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 138,043 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $33,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 122.0% during the first quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 29.2% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 89.5% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE WCN opened at $167.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.47 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.92 billion, a PE ratio of 69.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.59.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,190.52. The trade was a 37.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group set a $195.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. 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. Finally, Barclays reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $210.63.

About Waste Connections

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.