NEOS Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after purchasing an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $80,564,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Ecolab by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 886,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,758,000 after buying an additional 296,344 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $61,073,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,204,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:ECL opened at $249.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $256.04 and a 200 day moving average of $250.18.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, research analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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.