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

HM Payson & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $2,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 124.4% in the fourth 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 period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the first quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 156.5% in the fourth 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 period. 99.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWST has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the president owned 150,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,888,083.74. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 20,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,578.49. This trade represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 2.6%

Casella Waste Systems stock traded up $2.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $114.51. 264,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 394,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $116.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 520.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.84. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.01 and a 52-week 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 4.69%. The business had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.