Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,867 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,078,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $1,042,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 49,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,578,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 774,143 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $181,397,000 after buying an additional 16,954 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 45,748 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,720,000 after buying an additional 7,252 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $872,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.47.
Check Out Our Latest Report on ECL
Insider Transactions at Ecolab
In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.
Ecolab Stock Performance
Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $249.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.59. 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. The company has a market cap of $70.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.
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 company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The business 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. 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 1.04%. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.
Ecolab Company Profile
(
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.
See Also
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Ecolab, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Ecolab wasn't on the list.
While Ecolab currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
