Shufro Rose & Co. LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Shufro Rose & Co. LLC reduced its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $270,000. PGGM Investments raised its stake in Ecolab by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,012,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $679,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $1,428,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $221.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,242,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,060,937. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.72 and a 1 year high of $231.86. The company has a market capitalization of $63.21 billion, a PE ratio of 46.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $223.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.16.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $212.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.47.

About Ecolab

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.