First Trust Advisors LP Grows Position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 1,166.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 44,604 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $3,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,945,000 after purchasing an additional 581,310 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the first quarter worth about $13,742,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,784,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,455,000 after buying an additional 730,128 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $4,246,000. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casella Waste Systems news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,548,968.08. The trade was a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total transaction of $201,825.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,230,042.88. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.78% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CWST shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $102.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.12.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 1.6%

Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $90.04 on Thursday. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.05 and a 12 month high of $107.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 818.62 and a beta of 0.74.

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.