William Blair Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,468,206 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 341,661 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $143,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 33.3% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 80,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,590,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 40.9% in the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 102,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,678,000 after acquiring an additional 29,605 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 14.3% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 81,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,725,000 after acquiring an additional 10,207 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the third quarter valued at $5,519,000. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 15.5% in the third quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 346,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 46,450 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.13.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST opened at $87.41 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.05 and a 1 year high of $118.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 794.71 and a beta of 0.77.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.19% and a net margin of 0.38%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $35,530.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 7,342 shares in the company, valued at $644,113.66. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $62,511.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,055.82. This trade represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,330 shares of company stock valued at $2,573,708. 3.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional resource management company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. Established in 1975, the company has grown from a single-truck operation into a multi-state provider of integrated waste management solutions. Casella offers a comprehensive range of services, including residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, transfer station operations, landfill disposal, recycling processing and organics management.

Through a network of solid waste transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfills, Casella serves communities primarily across the northeastern United States and parts of the mid-Atlantic region.