9,425 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Bought by Voleon Capital Management LP

Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,425 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,208,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 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 $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:ECL traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $254.91. The company had a trading volume of 713,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,156,215. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.96 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.54, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $248.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.73.

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, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

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.