BlackRock Inc. Buys 17,528 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST – Get Rating) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,229,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,528 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.06% of Casella Waste Systems worth $246,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 472.0% in the third quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 20,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 16,970 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $642,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 112,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,590,000 after buying an additional 26,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 157,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,041,000 after buying an additional 3,487 shares during the period. 96.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CWST opened at $79.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.17. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.90 and a 52-week high of $92.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.80 and a 200-day moving average of $80.00.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $272.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.15 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 12.13%. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Casella Waste Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.25.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.72, for a total transaction of $106,429.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,738,767.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.72, for a total value of $106,429.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 22,088 shares in the company, valued at $1,738,767.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Edmond Coletta sold 16,135 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.65, for a total transaction of $1,220,612.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 165,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,511,148.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,850 shares of company stock valued at $1,430,153. Insiders own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

About Casella Waste Systems

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Casella Waste Systems, Inc engages in the provision of solid waste management. It operates through the Eastern Region and Western Region geographical segments. The Eastern region segment involves the transfer, landfill, processing, and recycling assets serviced by collection operations. The Western region segment consists of waste sheds in western New York, which include the Ithaca, Elmira, Oneonta, Lowville, Potsdam, Geneva, Auburn, Rochester, Dunkirk, Jamestown and Olean markets.