Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Sells 18,219 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 361,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,219 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up approximately 1.6% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $60,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,983,500,000 after acquiring an additional 106,763 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,921 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at $1,061,947,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $165.28 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. The firm has a market cap of $41.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.01. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $185.33.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors 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 yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.