Sandler Capital Management Decreases Stake in Clean Harbors, Inc. $CLH

Key Points

• Sandler Capital Management has reduced its stake in Clean Harbors, Inc. by 69.4%, selling 19,160 shares and now holding just 8,453 shares valued at approximately $1.67 million.
• Other investors have increased their holdings, with Millennium Management LLC raising its stake by an astonishing 36,389.2% to own 362,892 shares valued at about $71.5 million.
• Clean Harbors recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.36, slightly above estimates, despite a 0.2% annual decline in revenue to $1.55 billion.

Sandler Capital Management reduced its holdings in Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Free Report) by 69.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,453 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 19,160 shares during the quarter. Sandler Capital Management's holdings in Clean Harbors were worth $1,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,372 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,044,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,793 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,703 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clean Harbors news, EVP Brian P. Weber sold 3,035 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.17, for a total value of $689,460.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,391,669.16. The trade was a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Andrea Robertson sold 836 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.64, for a total value of $195,323.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,310,232.32. This represents a 7.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Clean Harbors Stock Down 0.7%

Clean Harbors stock traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.58. The company had a trading volume of 286,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 322,432. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $237.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.70. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $178.29 and a 12 month high of $267.11. The company has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23 and a beta of 1.22.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.03. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 6.48%.The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CLH shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Clean Harbors from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Clean Harbors from $254.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $268.00 target price on Clean Harbors and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Clean Harbors from $278.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.40.

Clean Harbors Company Profile

Clean Harbors, Inc provides environmental and industrial services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Environmental Services and Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions. The Environmental Services segment collects, transports, treats, and disposes hazardous and non-hazardous waste, such as resource recovery, physical treatment, fuel blending, incineration, landfill disposal, wastewater treatment, lab chemicals disposal, and explosives management services; and offers CleanPack services, including collection, identification, categorization, specialized packaging, transportation, and disposal of laboratory chemicals and household hazardous waste.