4D Advisors LLC Invests $9.30 Million in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• 4D Advisors LLC opened a new position in Casella Waste Systems, buying 95,000 shares worth about $9.3 million in the fourth quarter. The stake makes CWST its second-largest holding and about 5.1% of its portfolio.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their CWST holdings, including large moves from Pictet Asset Management, State Street, Alliancebernstein, UBS, and Vanguard. Overall, hedge funds and other institutions own 99.51% of the stock.
• Insiders sold shares recently, with CEO Edmond Coletta and Director Michael K. Burke both reducing their positions. Meanwhile, analysts remain mostly positive, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $111.13.

4D Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 95,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $9,304,000. Casella Waste Systems makes up about 5.1% of 4D Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. 4D Advisors LLC owned 0.15% of Casella Waste Systems as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CWST. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $97,040,000 after purchasing an additional 981,617 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 60.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% in the second 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 lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% in the fourth 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 position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $643,945,000 after purchasing an additional 581,310 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total value of $201,825.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,230,042.88. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total transaction of $1,119,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CWST. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.13.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of CWST opened at $86.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 782.80 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $84.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.05 and a twelve month high of $118.42.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The firm had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Casella Waste Systems

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.

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