Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 894 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% in 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 last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.88.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock opened at $231.75 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $234.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $225.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.07. The company has a market capitalization of $66.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.92, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

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.