2,592 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Bought by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 1.1% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Ecolab by 19.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

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

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $0.47 on Monday, hitting $245.71. 48,751 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,131,918. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.17 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $248.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.