Searle & CO. Acquires 300 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Searle & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Intellectus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 124.3% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 75,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 239,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,476,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.18. 227,179 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 289,238. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.10. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.97 and a 12-month high of $100.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 288.35, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The industrial products company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.01. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 1.32% and a return on equity of 4.47%. The firm had revenue of $341.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John W. Casella sold 1,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.13, for a total value of $157,479.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,340.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Casella Waste Systems news, President Edmond Coletta sold 733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total value of $69,129.23. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 170,486 shares in the company, valued at $16,078,534.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Casella sold 1,673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.13, for a total transaction of $157,479.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,312,340.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,238 shares of company stock worth $1,026,395. 4.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Casella Waste Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $99.71.

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.