Summit Global Investments Grows Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Summit Global Investments raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 59.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,898 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,659 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments' holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL traded up $1.32 on Friday, reaching $265.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,497,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,549. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business's 50-day moving average price is $248.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.65. The company has a market cap of $75.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.