Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by MCF Advisors LLC

MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $41,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $219.31 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $231.86. The company has a market cap of $62.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.79, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $223.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.93.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 47.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $238.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.47.

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.