3,541 Shares in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Acquired by WINTON GROUP Ltd

WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $830,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,249,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 28.3% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $249.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.18. The company has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.88.

Ecolab 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.