Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,858 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,237 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.10% of Casella Waste Systems worth $7,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CWST. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,954 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $64,328,000 after acquiring an additional 14,369 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 11.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 47,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen started coverage on 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. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.67.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ CWST traded up $1.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $117.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 187,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,655. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.41. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.01 and a fifty-two week high of $121.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 512.35, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.86.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.64 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 0.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, 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 value of $237,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,414,578.49. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $662,879.16. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 150,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,888,083.74. This represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

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.