Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Avior Wealth Management LLC

Avior Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,412 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $80,564,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Ecolab by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 8,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 13,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,052,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Five research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.13.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $261.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.32. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 22.53% and a net margin of 13.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

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.