5,674 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Purchased by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,674 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,310,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1 %

ECL stock opened at $235.65 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $67.29 billion, a PE ratio of 43.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $245.93.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.