Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 296,061 Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 296,061 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $31,326,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Casella Waste Systems as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CWST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,785,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,644,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,002,000 after acquiring an additional 190,023 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 495,294 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,604,000 after acquiring an additional 144,212 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 716,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $75,788,000 after purchasing an additional 138,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,110,529 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $646,555,000 after purchasing an additional 123,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CWST traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $113.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 458,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,706. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $86.41 and a one year high of $120.69. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $111.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 494.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.96.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.25. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on CWST shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $113.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.67.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total value of $237,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,414,578.49. This represents a 8.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.