Virtu Financial LLC Invests $3.40 Million in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,398,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab by 6.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Ecolab by 14.5% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 9,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 11.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 8,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,043,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 16.4% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 9,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE ECL opened at $250.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $254.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $250.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.