Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Raises Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

by · The Markets Daily

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 110.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 9,772 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $240.00 price target (down previously from $265.00) on shares of Ecolab in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.33.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Ecolab

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

ECL opened at $238.51 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $67.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $253.24 and a 200 day moving average of $248.56. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.27 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Ecolab Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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