Tidal Investments LLC Raises Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,393 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Motco acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2,042.9% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Ecolab stock traded up $5.38 on Thursday, reaching $236.07. 355,326 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,228. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $239.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.54. The company has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $249.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ECL. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $251.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.13.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,680.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.