Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Has $10.05 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp cut its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 747 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises about 2.4% of Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $10,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ecolab from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $227.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $227.50. 1,068,171 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,224,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $156.72 and a one year high of $231.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.96.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 20.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

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.