GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Peak Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Ecolab by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $243.29 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $230.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.02. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $245.26. The firm has a market cap of $69.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.05, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. 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 previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.