Navigoe LLC Purchases New Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $246.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ECL. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price objective on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

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.