Northcape Wealth Management LLC Sells 59 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $4.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $226.15. 2,358,067 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,282. The stock has a market cap of $64.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.21, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.10. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $231.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $224.02 and its 200-day moving average is $201.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ECL. Bank of America raised shares of Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $238.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho raised Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.47.

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.