Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 41.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 495,294 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 144,212 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.78% of Casella Waste Systems worth $50,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,854,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 50.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,454,453 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $144,704,000 after purchasing an additional 487,661 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,898,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 848,976 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,465,000 after purchasing an additional 151,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,924,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,252,088.85. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CWST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.00.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:CWST traded down $0.55 on Wednesday, reaching $105.95. The stock had a trading volume of 457,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,127. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.66 and a 200 day moving average of $103.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 882.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 1.02. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.04 and a 12-month high of $114.88.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $411.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.59 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 3.04%. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Casella Waste Systems 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.