Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Increased by Peddock Capital Advisors LLC

Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 2,805.1% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 38,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,635,000 after purchasing an additional 37,167 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 111,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,129,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership boosted its position in Ecolab by 526.2% during the 4th quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 56,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,298,000 after acquiring an additional 47,863 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 87,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,040,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1 %

ECL stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $233.10. The stock had a trading volume of 960,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,207,357. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.72 and a 1-year high of $234.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $225.01 and a 200 day moving average of $204.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.15, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $216.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% 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.