Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 114,178 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Fred Alger Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 561,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 114,178 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Casella Waste Systems were worth $53,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CWST. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 180.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 235.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 280.0% in the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 2.9%

CWST opened at $88.09 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.36. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 734.14 and a beta of 0.80. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.22 and a 52 week high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.32 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 0.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CWST. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total value of $626,190.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,775.90. This represents a 19.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.70, for a total transaction of $357,184.40. Following the transaction, the president owned 147,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,782,426.70. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 11,213 shares of company stock worth $1,045,887 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.81% of the company’s stock.

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.