Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys New Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,085 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,152 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,813,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 89.6% during the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,651 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,556 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of ECL traded down $7.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $263.81. 1,221,133 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,176,580. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.16.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Ecolab 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.