UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 16,458 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,032 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,458 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.24% of Casella Waste Systems worth $15,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 71.7% in the fourth 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 period. 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 worth $64,328,000 after acquiring an additional 14,369 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 11.0% in 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, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 29.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 131,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,122,000 after buying an additional 29,686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,414,578.49. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 150,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,888,083.74. This trade represents a 3.57% 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 up $1.65 on Friday, hitting $116.93. The company had a trading volume of 446,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 386,162. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 508.39, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.89. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.01 and a 52 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.

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 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. The firm had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.64 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Casella Waste Systems Company 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.