Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 904,598 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,153 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.43% of Casella Waste Systems worth $95,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CWST. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,577,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $272,705,000 after buying an additional 838,086 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $43,785,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,326,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,644,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $174,002,000 after purchasing an additional 190,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 495,294 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,604,000 after purchasing an additional 144,212 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CWST stock traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $116.75. 609,844 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 364,687. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $111.94 and a 200 day moving average of $109.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.12 and a 1 year high of $120.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 507.61, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.64 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. Casella Waste Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. Analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,414,578.49. The trade was a 8.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers.