Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 44,100 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Two Sigma Advisers LP decreased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,346 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 44,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.09% of Ecolab worth $60,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Texas Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,426 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,071,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Ecolab by 2,166.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Ecolab by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 103,730 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,306,000 after acquiring an additional 9,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of ECL opened at $261.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $246.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.72. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company 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. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business'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 purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ecolab

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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