33,838 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Purchased by Bearing Point Capital LLC

Bearing Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,838 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $7,929,000. Ecolab comprises about 1.7% of Bearing Point Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $3,257,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. AlTi Global Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 139.9% in the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 2,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $4,643,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $254.38. 1,323,431 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,156,159. The business's fifty day moving average price is $248.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.72. The company has a market cap of $72.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.47.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.