Legato Capital Management LLC recently announced the acquisition of a new position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL), an international supplier of water, hygiene, and energy technologies and services. According to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC, Legato Capital Management LLC procured 9,279 shares of Ecolab’s basic materials company stock valued at $1,351,000 during the fourth quarter of last year.
Despite this move by Legato Capital Management LLC, Ecolab has shown strong financial performance as of late. In fact, on February 14th, the basic materials company released its quarterly earnings results for Q4 2020. The EPS was $1.27 per share for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.02 per share. Furthermore, Ecolab’s net margin was 7.69% and its return on equity was an impressive 18.02%. Although analyst estimates placed Ecolab’s revenue at $3.69 billion for the quarter, the firm disclosed revenue of $3.67 billion – a revenue increase of 9.1% on a year-over-year basis from Q4 of the previous fiscal year.
Current indications are that analysts predict that Ecolab will post an EPS of 4.96 by year-end; all signs point towards continued growth for this global corporation.
However, in other news related to Ecolab Inc., Executive Vice President (EVP) Larry L. Berger sold a total of 4,404 shares in early March this year at an average price per share of $162.95 – accumulating proceeds totaling $717,631.80 from this transaction alone – according to filings provided by the SEC which can be accessed via their website.
Although corporate insiders including Larry L.Berger own only approximately 0.04% percent of outstanding shares in Ecolab, this sale can be seen as a regular leadership move – reiterating their commitment to investors and their shareholders. Despite this insider trading, the company has performed well over the last year and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Investors will undoubtedly continue watching Ecolab’s progress with great interest over the coming months.
Ecolab Inc. Sees Increase in Shares Purchased and Sold by Hedge Funds and Institutional Investors
Ecolab Inc., a basic materials company, has seen an increase in shares purchased and sold by hedge funds and institutional investors. United Bank, Cibc World Market Inc., Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC, Brighton Jones LLC and Candrian Luxembourg S.C.A. have all acquired additional shares within the first quarter of 2017, amounting to an 86.76% ownership of the company’s stock. Shares of Ecolab opened at $164.37 with a market capitalization of $46.79 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, and quick and current ratios of 0.88 and 1.30 respectively on Friday, May 12th, while its fifty day moving average price is $159.66 with its two-hundred day moving average price at $152.19. The firm’s dividend will be paid on Monday April 17th with shareholders receiving a dividend of $0.53 per share.
An EVP of Ecolab recently sold out over $700k worth of shares in the company as the executive vice president’s own personal investment portfolio diversified away from the stock . Analysts have recently given mixed advice for those considering investment into the company with StockNews.com issuing a “buy” rating while Citigroup gave it a “neutral” rating.
In conclusion, this report indicates that there are mixed opinions as well as diverse trends currently surrounding Ecolab which investors should consider before making any decisions regarding purchasing or selling shares within this basic materials company.
