Teza Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $259.63. The stock had a trading volume of 873,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,183. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day moving average is $246.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 1.00%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Five 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.