Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Takes Position in Clean Harbors, Inc. $CLH

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE:CLH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in Clean Harbors by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 68,867 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,992,000 after acquiring an additional 18,367 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 7.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 219,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,059,000 after purchasing an additional 15,872 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Clean Harbors by 715.0% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 7,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,371 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 120.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,040,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $246,725,000 after purchasing an additional 569,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clean Harbors by 8.6% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,097,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,908,000 after purchasing an additional 87,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clean Harbors

In related news, EVP Sharon M. Gabriel sold 3,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.07, for a total value of $998,527.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,193 shares in the company, valued at $6,542,049.51. This trade represents a 13.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Eric W. Gerstenberg sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.00, for a total transaction of $293,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,390,961. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,597 shares of company stock worth $3,895,286. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Clean Harbors Stock Up 0.1%

CLH opened at $297.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Clean Harbors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $178.29 and a 12 month high of $299.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.82 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.01.

Clean Harbors (NYSE:CLH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Clean Harbors had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.48%.Clean Harbors’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Clean Harbors, Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CLH. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Clean Harbors to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Clean Harbors from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Clean Harbors from $291.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Clean Harbors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Clean Harbors from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clean Harbors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.27.

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.