Xponance Inc. Raises Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $253.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $253.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.00. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.