Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $6.67 Million Investment in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 59,800 new shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. during the first quarter, valued at approximately $6.67 million, resulting in an ownership stake of about 0.09%.
• Casella Waste Systems has seen significant increases in holdings from institutional investors, with 99.51% of its stock owned by such entities, including a notable 157.6% increase by Bank of New York Mellon Corp in Q1.
• The stock has a current price target of $123.83 with an average rating of "Moderate Buy," reflecting analysts' positive outlook on the company's performance.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 59,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $6,668,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.09% of Casella Waste Systems as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 2.1% during the fourth 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 boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,577,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $272,705,000 after acquiring an additional 838,086 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,830,220 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $193,656,000 after acquiring an additional 13,678 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,644,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,002,000 after acquiring an additional 190,023 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,446,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $153,129,000 after buying an additional 15,917 shares during the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CWST shares. 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 objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 6th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $123.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 150,093 shares in the company, valued at $17,888,083.74. This represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:CWST traded down $2.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $108.37. 365,190 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,054. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.01 and a 52-week high of $121.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $113.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 492.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.84.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.64 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.69% and a net margin of 0.79%. Casella Waste Systems's quarterly revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal 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.