Retirement Guys Formula LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 160.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after buying an additional 23,310 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $532,000. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $440,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 117.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,669,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,185,000 after purchasing an additional 903,307 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.1 %

ECL traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $235.85. 678,162 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,156,694. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $234.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.25. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $245.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.11.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.56.

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.