Bryce Point Capital LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,137 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Ecolab by 797.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Ecolab by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. raised its position in Ecolab by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $246,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $12.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $237.86. 1,924,966 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,145,578. The company has a market cap of $67.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $255.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.45. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69.

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Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.00.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business'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 value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 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.