Petros Family Wealth LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Petros Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,104 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.67.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $238.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,479,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,039. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $254.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

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.