Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Takes $679,000 Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $679,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Robbins Farley bought a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $36,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ECL stock traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $221.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,242,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,937. The stock has a market cap of $63.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.16, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.10. 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 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $231.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $223.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.16.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $238.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.