Highland Capital Management LLC Invests $276,000 in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 115.0% in the first quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,440 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 1,840 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 28.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 288,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,162,000 after purchasing an additional 64,704 shares in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.9% in the first quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the first quarter valued at about $251,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 12.8% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 170,703 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,987,000 after buying an additional 19,413 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST traded up $2.92 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $114.51. The company had a trading volume of 264,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,381. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 520.52, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $116.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $91.01 and a one year high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.69% and a net margin of 0.79%. The firm had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems's quarterly revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CWST. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, June 6th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $122.67.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total transaction of $662,879.16. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 150,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,888,083.74. This represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was 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 directly owned 20,347 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,578.49. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.81% 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.