Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $12,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $434,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $687,935,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 25,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,306,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 193,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,023,000 after buying an additional 14,315 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 394,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,560,000 after acquiring an additional 165,072 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WCN opened at $192.80 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.67, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $187.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 52.72%.

Waste Connections Profile

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.