Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank cut its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 33.1% in Q4, selling 182,270 shares and retaining 368,287 shares worth about $36.07 million, signaling notable institutional trimming.
• Analysts are mixed but generally positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111 (2 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 2 Hold, 1 Sell).
• Company insiders have sold 15,830 shares (~$1.45M) over the past three months (including CEO and CAO sales); the stock trades with a very high P/E of 668.31, market cap ~$5.09B and a 12‑month range of $74.05–$121.24.

Comerica Bank trimmed its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 33.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 368,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 182,270 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned 0.58% of Casella Waste Systems worth $36,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CWST. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 180.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the third quarter worth about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 235.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 280.0% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. 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. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating 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 given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $62,511.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,462 shares in the company, valued at $691,055.82. This represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total transaction of $86,756.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 152,618 shares in the company, valued at $13,401,386.58. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CWST opened at $80.19 on Monday. 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's 50-day moving average is $87.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.28. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.05 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 668.31 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Casella Waste Systems Company 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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