CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT raised its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 100.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Wellington Altus USA Inc. increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 64.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.
Ecolab Stock Performance
Ecolab stock opened at $288.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $80.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.87. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.15 and a 1-year high of $309.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $280.46 and a 200-day moving average of $275.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.72% and a net margin of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.19%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Ecolab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Oppenheimer upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on ECL
Insider Activity at Ecolab
In related news, CEO Christophe Beck sold 17,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.14, for a total transaction of $5,003,860.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 72,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,431,170.48. The trade was a 19.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.
Ecolab Company Profile
Ecolab Inc is a global provider of water, hygiene, infection prevention and cleaning solutions for businesses and institutions. The company helps customers manage water and energy use, maintain sanitary operations, protect food supplies and comply with health and safety standards.
Ecolab serves customers across industries including food and beverage processing, hospitality, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, institutional facilities and energy. Its offerings include cleaning and sanitizing chemicals, water-treatment and process-management systems, pest-control services, kitchen and housekeeping products, infection-prevention programs, and related equipment, training and consulting services.
Founded in 1923 as Economics Laboratory, the company has expanded from its original focus on cleaning products into a broad range of technology-enabled services and solutions.
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