EntryPoint Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.4 %

Ecolab stock opened at $252.27 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $255.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.16. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $71.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.88.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.