Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 990 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab
In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.
Ecolab Stock Performance
Shares of ECL traded up $3.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $270.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,156,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,639. The stock's 50-day moving average is $250.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.86 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $220.96 and a one year high of $273.69.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 35.33%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ECL
Ecolab Company Profile
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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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