Insider Selling: Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Director Sells $153,070.88 in Stock

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Director John Casella sold 1,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $153,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,877.15. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Down 2.9%

CWST stock opened at $85.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 715.98 and a beta of 0.80. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.22 and a 52-week high of $121.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.15.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.43% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The firm had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CWST. Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price objective on Casella Waste Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.11.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 10,865.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 990,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,040,000 after purchasing an additional 981,617 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,306,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,926,000 after purchasing an additional 871,761 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 867,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,067,000 after purchasing an additional 795,414 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,455,000 after purchasing an additional 730,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,945,000 after buying an additional 581,310 shares during the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional resource management company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. Established in 1975, the company has grown from a single-truck operation into a multi-state provider of integrated waste management solutions. Casella offers a comprehensive range of services, including residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, transfer station operations, landfill disposal, recycling processing and organics management.

Through a network of solid waste transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfills, Casella serves communities primarily across the northeastern United States and parts of the mid-Atlantic region.