Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 1,332 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 292,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $52,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. American Trust increased its stake in Waste Connections by 3.7% during the second quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 15.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.4% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 12.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $183.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $47.35 billion, a PE ratio of 50.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.33 and a 12 month high of $188.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.60.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WCN. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 25th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

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.