Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 150.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Motco acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 2,042.9% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler started coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.56.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $243.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.18, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.12. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $245.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $231.56 and a 200-day moving average of $217.76. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 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 firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

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.