Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Has $94.56 Million Stake in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 950,484 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 39,666 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 1.50% of Casella Waste Systems worth $94,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,536,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $547,385,000 after acquiring an additional 57,540 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% in the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,386,970 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $336,055,000 after buying an additional 101,995 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.2% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,680,358 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $166,725,000 after buying an additional 51,516 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040,619 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $103,531,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 861,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $85,476,000 after acquiring an additional 26,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair assumed coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James boosted 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 research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.50.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

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

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ CWST traded up $1.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.56. 317,893 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 322,345. The company has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 938.00, a P/E/G ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $112.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $102.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.12.

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

About Casella Waste Systems

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.