HM Payson & Co. Sells 4,000 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

HM Payson & Co. cut its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $2,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 124.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 276 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 156.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total transaction of $662,879.16. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 150,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,888,083.74. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 objective for the company. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST stock traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $111.87. 241,109 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 394,273. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 508.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.84. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.01 and a 1-year high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.64 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 4.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

About Casella Waste Systems

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.