Allworth Financial LP Sells 130 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Allworth Financial LP reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Robbins Farley acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $222.15 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $220.64 and its 200-day moving average is $196.86. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.72 and a 12-month high of $231.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $238.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $220.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.88.

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.