Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 27,950.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after purchasing an additional 735,934 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $80,564,000. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 750.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,519,000 after acquiring an additional 143,497 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,380,000 after acquiring an additional 129,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE ECL opened at $245.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $201.99 and a one year high of $262.61.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is a positive change from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.06, for a total value of $24,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,718,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,372,030,892.46. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.60.

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.