2,749 Shares in Clean Harbors, Inc. $CLH Purchased by Quantbot Technologies LP

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP invested approximately $542,000 in Clean Harbors, acquiring 2,749 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Michael Louis Battles purchasing 2,000 shares, while Director Alison A. Quirk sold 893 shares, indicating mixed sentiment among insiders.
• Clean Harbors reported quarterly earnings of $2.36 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and its stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $263.40.

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,749 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Clean Harbors by 0.5% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,372 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Clean Harbors by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,793 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Clean Harbors by 25.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Clean Harbors by 0.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,703 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Clean Harbors by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,797 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Eric W. Gerstenberg sold 8,076 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.23, for a total transaction of $1,818,957.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,626,147.37. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Louis Battles purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.50 per share, for a total transaction of $467,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 82,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,359,718.50. This trade represents a 2.47% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,840 shares of company stock valued at $2,903,497. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Clean Harbors Stock Performance

Shares of CLH traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.23. The company had a trading volume of 436,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,561. The firm has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $236.27 and a 200-day moving average of $220.85. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $178.29 and a 12 month high of $267.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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

Clean Harbors 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.