Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 64,919 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Two Sigma Investments LP decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 355,425 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 64,919 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.13% of Ecolab worth $83,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $261.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 796,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,447. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $247.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $74.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho cut 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, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.