Granahan Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Granahan Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 372,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,124 shares during the period. Casella Waste Systems makes up 1.6% of Granahan Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Granahan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $39,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,123,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 55,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,820,000 after acquiring an additional 16,820 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 10,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,402,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,380,000 after purchasing an additional 193,571 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $118.50 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.00. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $91.01 and a one year high of $121.24. The company has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 515.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.89.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. The company had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on CWST shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In other 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total value of $237,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,347 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,578.49. This trade represents a 8.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.