Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 5,852 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 5th, 2023

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) by 59.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,852 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank increased its holdings in Ecolab by 2.7% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 4,149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 7.6% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 23.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 17.1% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 73,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,920,000 after purchasing an additional 10,676 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.6 %

ECL opened at $172.36 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $131.04 and a one year high of $179.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $49.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $162.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.28.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 7.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 55.50%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 4,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.95, for a total value of $717,631.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,027,423.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Ecolab from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $163.00 to $177.00 in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Ecolab from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $164.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.20.

Ecolab Company Profile

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Ecolab, Inc engages in the provision of products and services in the field of water, hygiene, and energy. It operates through the following segments: Global Industrial, Global Institutional & Specialty, Global Energy & Life Science, and Other. The Global Industrial segment consists of the water, food and beverage, paper, and downstream operating segments.