Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% during 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. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $254.91 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $220.96 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $248.58 and a 200 day moving average of $247.68. The company has a market capitalization of $72.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Mizuho decreased their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.47.

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.