Legato Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 16,911 Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,911 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,886,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,110,529 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $646,555,000 after acquiring an additional 123,001 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 838,086 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,830,220 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $193,656,000 after acquiring an additional 13,678 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,644,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $174,002,000 after acquiring an additional 190,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,446,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $153,129,000 after acquiring an additional 15,917 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 0.2%

Casella Waste Systems stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.97. The stock had a trading volume of 324,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 404,063. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 495.34, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.84. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $114.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.48. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.69% and a net margin of 0.79%. The company had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.64 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casella Waste Systems news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the 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 sale, the president directly owned 150,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,888,083.74. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CWST shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen started coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two research 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, Casella Waste Systems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.83.

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.