Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Raises Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 61.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,547 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up 0.8% of Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $6,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $16,108,000. Gillson Capital LP bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $8,374,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in Ecolab by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 6,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 7,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Ecolab by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 28,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,726,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Barclays raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.56.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7 %

ECL opened at $239.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $243.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.53 billion, a PE ratio of 44.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $229.56 and its 200 day moving average is $215.73.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Ecolab Company 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.