Keel Point LLC Purchases New Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Keel Point LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Robbins Farley purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ECL opened at $219.25 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $231.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.69 billion, a PE ratio of 45.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. 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.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.47.

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.