The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,544,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $589,671,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 1.41% of Waste Connections at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 449,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,756,000 after purchasing an additional 109,950 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 669,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,394,000 after purchasing an additional 7,866 shares during the period. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Waste Connections by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd now owns 56,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,754,000 after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,546,000 after purchasing an additional 8,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $2,100,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $168.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $185.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.15.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.89.

About Waste Connections

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.