817 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Bought by Cadinha & Co. LLC

Cadinha & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 28,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,726,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Ecolab by 67.9% in 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. Gillson Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $8,374,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $16,108,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP lifted its stake in Ecolab by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 30,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,040,000 after acquiring an additional 11,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $255.36. The stock had a trading volume of 90,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,095,182. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.72 and a 52 week high of $256.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.44.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $240.41 per share, with a total value of $156,266.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 17,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Gregory B. Cook sold 3,811 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.33, for a total transaction of $950,196.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,586.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,446.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase 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 the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ecolab from $288.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.07.

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.