Lindbrook Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Lindbrook Capital LLC reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 494 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Robbins Farley bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter valued at $36,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Bank of America raised Ecolab from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $216.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ecolab from $184.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ecolab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Eleven 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, Ecolab has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.47.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $219.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $62.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.93. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week 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.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

Ecolab Profile

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.