Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,379 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 327 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 1st quarter valued at $2,997,000. Leeward Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 14.1% during the first quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 15,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Ecolab by 4.0% in the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 5,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 107,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 694,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,451,000 after purchasing an additional 48,617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $235.85 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $245.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.68, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $234.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.36.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. Ecolab’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Ecolab

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Ecolab from $269.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.56.

About Ecolab

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.