Squarepoint Ops LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lessened its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 52.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,934 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,269 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,954 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $64,328,000 after acquiring an additional 14,369 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 47,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,414,578.49. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $662,879.16. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 150,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,888,083.74. This represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CWST traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 251,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,089. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.01 and a 52-week high of $121.24. The company's 50-day moving average is $115.09 and its 200-day moving average is $111.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 509.35, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.86.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. The firm had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.64 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Casella Waste Systems Profile

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.