Clean Harbors, Inc. $CLH Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Clean Harbors by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,816 shares and leaving it with 74,578 shares valued at about $17.5 million.
• Clean Harbors reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting EPS of $1.19 versus the $1.15 consensus, while revenue came in at $1.46 billion, slightly below estimates.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive on CLH, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a price target of $323.23, though some firms recently downgraded the stock while others raised targets.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Free Report) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,578 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,816 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.14% of Clean Harbors worth $17,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,454 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 150,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,172,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $938,000. Americana Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clean Harbors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 266.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,752 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clean Harbors Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of CLH stock opened at $280.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.34. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $316.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $295.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.06 and a beta of 0.92.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 6.53%.The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CLH shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Clean Harbors from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Clean Harbors from $268.00 to $306.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Clean Harbors in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Clean Harbors from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Clean Harbors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian P. Weber sold 4,683 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.39, for a total value of $1,373,945.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,728 shares in the company, valued at $14,296,307.92. This represents a 8.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric W. Gerstenberg sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.00, for a total value of $293,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 38,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,390,961. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,308 shares of company stock worth $2,133,467. Insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

About Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors, Inc is a leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services in North America. The company specializes in the collection, transportation and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, emergency spill response and remediation, industrial cleaning and on-site field services. Its comprehensive service offering also includes chemical neutralization, drum crushing, high-pressure water blasting, tank cleaning and vacuum services designed to help customers meet stringent environmental regulations.

Founded in 1980 by Alan S.

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