Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Reduces Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. trimmed its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE:ECL opened at $220.75 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 stock has a market capitalization of $63.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.09, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $221.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.02. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.72 and a fifty-two week high of $231.86.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $238.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.88.

Ecolab Company 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.