Clarius Group LLC owns $293,000 in Ecolab Inc shares. (NYSE:ECL)

VaselineAugust 11, 2024

0 4 minutes read

Clarius Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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 last quarter. Motco purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of shares are currently held by institutional investors.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $272.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $267.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st . Mizuho raised shares of Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $243.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ecolab from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.13, based on data from MarketBeat.

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Insider buying and selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $240.41 per share, for a total transaction of $156,266.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,319,446.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible via this link. 0.04% of shares are currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab stock performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $237.94. 804,979 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,166,224. The company has a 50-day moving average of $240.22 and a 200-day moving average of $228.10. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $249.00. The stock has a market cap of $67.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.50, and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 21.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% year over year. Analysts estimate that Ecolab Inc. will record 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a dividend of $2.28 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Ecolab Company Profile

(Free report)

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 and Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment provides water treatment and process applications, as well as cleaning and sanitation solutions for the manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum , refining and the petrochemical industry.