Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded up $1.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $220.38. 1,733,417 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,028,096. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $231.86. The stock has a market cap of $63.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.47.

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.