Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $605,000 Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC cut its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,048 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 861 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ECL. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $40,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.3 %

Ecolab stock opened at $227.50 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $224.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.72 and a 12 month high of $231.86. The stock has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 20.56% and a net margin of 10.01%. Ecolab’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ecolab in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.