Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $23.47 Million Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,370 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $23,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $227.50 on Monday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $231.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $224.62 and its 200 day moving average is $203.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.13, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $232.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.88.

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.