J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Cuts Position in Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG sold 51,184 shares of Clean Harbors, reducing its stake by 44.6% in the first quarter, leaving it with 63,676 shares valued at approximately $12.55 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Clean Harbors, with target prices ranging from $240.00 to $268.00, and a majority of analysts issuing a "buy" rating for the stock.
• Insiders at Clean Harbors sold a total of 15,112 shares last quarter, contributing to a 5.60% ownership by company insiders.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its position in shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Free Report) by 44.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,676 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 51,184 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned 0.12% of Clean Harbors worth $12,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Clean Harbors in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Clean Harbors in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Clean Harbors in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 25.8% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Clean Harbors by 2,800.0% during the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 261 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CLH shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Clean Harbors from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Clean Harbors from $278.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Clean Harbors from $268.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets set a $268.00 price target on Clean Harbors and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Clean Harbors from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.40.

Clean Harbors Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Clean Harbors stock traded up $2.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $238.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 163,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,281. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.52 and a beta of 1.18. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $178.29 and a 1-year high of $267.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.94.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.59 billion. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 6.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Clean Harbors

In other Clean Harbors news, CEO Eric W. Gerstenberg sold 8,076 shares of Clean Harbors stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,818,957.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,626,147.37. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian P. Weber sold 3,035 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.17, for a total value of $689,460.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,391,669.16. This trade represents a 5.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,948 shares of company stock worth $3,611,729 in the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.