Machina Capital S.A.S. Increases Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 653.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,662 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 10,115 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for about 0.9% of Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,449 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% during the first quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 298 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ECL. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.33.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $2.10 on Friday, reaching $271.93. 972,465 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,949. The firm's 50-day moving average is $266.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.59. The company has a market capitalization of $77.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.32. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $274.17.

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. 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 analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

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.