Claro Advisors LLC Purchases 256 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Motco bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 2,042.9% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur J. Higgins sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.52, for a total transaction of $1,023,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,680.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, for a total transaction of $147,790.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $235.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $67.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.11. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.72 and a twelve month high of $245.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.60.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Raymond James increased their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Ecolab from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.56.

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.