Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Acquires 5,418 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 72.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,418 shares during the quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP's holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 10,726 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,513,000 after buying an additional 1,803 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,547,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,448.3% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,773 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,805,000 after acquiring an additional 23,173 shares in the last quarter. Humankind Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 5,615 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,420 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $3.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $258.96. 1,118,105 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,162,641. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.59. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $220.96 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $73.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.47.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.