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

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 3,544,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $589,671,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Nicholas Company Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 449,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,756,000 after buying an additional 109,950 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 669,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $117,394,000 after buying an additional 7,866 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 28.9% during 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 buying an additional 12,680 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 8,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $2,100,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $168.98 on Tuesday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $166.82 and a 200-day moving average of $163.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, valued at $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% 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 worth $2,303,997 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WCN. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.