Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,858 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,237 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Casella Waste Systems worth $7,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,577,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $272,705,000 after buying an additional 838,086 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,785,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,326,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,368.2% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 279,743 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,600,000 after purchasing an additional 260,689 shares during the period. Finally, SG Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,907,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 150,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,888,083.74. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total value of $237,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,578.49. The trade was 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 Price Performance

NASDAQ:CWST traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $117.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 295,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,663. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.01 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.49. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 512.04, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.86.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $403.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CWST. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised 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. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 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.