Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by ORG Partners LLC

by · The Markets Daily

ORG Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,510,224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $802,069,000 after buying an additional 2,023,685 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $276,712,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 65,845.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,835,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $267,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,139 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the first quarter worth approximately $304,475,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 117.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,669,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,185,000 after purchasing an additional 903,307 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.47.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ECL

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $221.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,134,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,588. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $231.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.38 billion, a PE ratio of 46.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $221.50 and its 200-day moving average is $197.37.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.60%.

About Ecolab

(Free Report)

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.

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