Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Shares Acquired by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 432,896 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 119,461 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned about 0.68% of Casella Waste Systems worth $45,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,577,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $272,705,000 after acquiring an additional 838,086 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,785,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,326,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 279,743 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,600,000 after purchasing an additional 260,689 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,644,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,002,000 after purchasing an additional 190,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CWST shares. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $113.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST traded down $0.58 on Friday, hitting $116.75. 609,844 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,460. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.01 and a fifty-two week high of $120.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 507.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $112.05 and its 200 day moving average is $109.26.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.64 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 0.87%. The company's revenue was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,414,578.49. This trade represents a 8.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.24% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

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.