PDT Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

PDT Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1,668.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 15,049 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth 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 period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ECL. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (down from $265.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.3 %

ECL stock opened at $238.90 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $219.97 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The business’s 50-day moving average is $249.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $67.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

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.