Polar Capital Holdings Plc Buys 1,111 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc's holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of 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 position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $2.13 on Monday, reaching $261.22. 1,132,678 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,164,029. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $246.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.60. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.96 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Five 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought 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 owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.