Spirepoint Private Client LLC Makes New Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,824 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Peak Asset Management LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 3,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $243.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,025,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,023,930. The company has a market capitalization of $69.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $246.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $238.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.01.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler initiated 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $233.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.06.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total value of $1,023,840.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.