Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Buys Shares of 4,447 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,447 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,042,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded up $2.13 on Monday, hitting $261.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,132,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,029. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $246.16 and a 200-day moving average of $247.60. 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 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.47.

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.