Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. Buys 1,725 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,224 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up 1.0% of Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

ECL stock opened at $261.02 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $255.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm 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 business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 target price on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.13.

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.

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