ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Sells 100,788 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP decreased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 74.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 33,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 100,788 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 14,973 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 17,361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,068,000 after buying an additional 4,475 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 96.3% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 19,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,489,000 after buying an additional 9,400 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $501,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in Ecolab by 289.6% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 59,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,058,000 after acquiring an additional 44,596 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $289.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $237.65 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $256.93 and a 200-day moving average of $250.15. 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 (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

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.