Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC Reduces Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 89.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,469 shares during the quarter. Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $218.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $62.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $223.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.77. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.72 and a 52-week high of $231.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 19.36%. Ecolab’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $211.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Ecolab from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.