EntryPoint Capital LLC Invests $367,000 in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired 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 approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, 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 valued at $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $252.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $255.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.16. The company has a market capitalization of $71.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.88.

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.