B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Grows Stock Holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• B. Metzler increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 24.7% to 68,754 shares (≈$6.73M), while other institutions like Boston Trust Walden and the State of Alaska also initiated large positions, leaving institutional ownership at about 99.51%.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares at about $93.10 and insiders sold 15,830 shares (~$1.45M) over the last three months, leaving insiders with 3.81% ownership.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a $111 consensus price target, though opinions and targets are mixed; the stock also shows a very high trailing P/E (~699) and a 12‑month range of $74.05–$121.24.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,634 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG owned approximately 0.11% of Casella Waste Systems worth $6,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,524,000. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 115.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 785 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,116,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 99.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CWST. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.00.

Insider Activity

In other Casella Waste Systems news, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total value of $626,190.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,775.90. This represents a 19.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $62,511.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $691,055.82. The trade was a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208. Company insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWST opened at $83.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.57 and a 200 day moving average of $93.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 698.97 and a beta of 0.84. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.05 and a 12-month high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.32 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.43% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Casella Waste Systems 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.

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