Silverberg Bernstein Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $272,000.
A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Ecolab Stock Performance
Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $1.97 on Wednesday, hitting $267.39. The stock had a trading volume of 892,334 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,413. The stock has a market cap of $75.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.96 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The business's 50 day moving average is $248.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.91.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The firm 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 is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.33%.
Insider Transactions at Ecolab
In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.
Check Out Our Latest Report on ECL
About Ecolab
(
Free Report)
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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