Magnetar Financial LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 524 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $254.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $253.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.95 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.