United Asset Strategies Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises about 1.4% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James increased their price target on Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ecolab from $193.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.47.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $221.04. 370,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,194,544. The company has a market capitalization of $63.20 billion, a PE ratio of 45.36, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.13. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $231.86.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 8.96%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

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.