Moreno Evelyn V Increases Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Moreno Evelyn V raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the quarter. Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Motco purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $232.81. 259,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,163,654. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $236.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $226.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.56.

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.