Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 64,919 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 355,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 64,919 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.13% of Ecolab worth $83,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Texas Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $333,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 21,426 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $1,071,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Ecolab by 2,166.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 103,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,306,000 after purchasing an additional 9,858 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $261.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $220.96 and a one year high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.47.

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.