Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 100.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311,497 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 156,200 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.11% of Ecolab worth $72,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $238.84. The stock had a trading volume of 493,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,406,634. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The firm has a market cap of $67.74 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50 day moving average is $254.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.00.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 price target on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $313.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.67.

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.