AlphaQuest LLC Raises Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3,170.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,421 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ECL. Barclays upped their price objective on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.3 %

ECL opened at $269.68 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $250.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $76.32 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

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.