Covea Finance Decreases Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Covea Finance cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,954 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,541 shares during the period. Covea Finance's holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 176.7% during the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $261.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.03 billion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $255.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.59. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Five research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.13.

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.

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