Everpar Advisors LLC Makes New $773,000 Investment in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Ecolab stock traded up $4.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $233.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,218,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,210,443. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $233.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $225.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.50.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $227.37 per share, with a total value of $147,790.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,528.07. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.