Teza Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 4,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock opened at $258.96 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.60. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $220.96 and a one year high of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $73.45 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.33%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.47.

Ecolab Company 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.