Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 64,919 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 355,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 64,919 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $83,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:ECL opened at $261.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.72. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $220.96 and a 12 month high of $273.69.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.47.

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.