Howland Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Howland Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,463 shares during the quarter. Ecolab accounts for 1.7% of Howland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $39,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.96, for a total transaction of $20,629,403.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,534,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,264,396,133.28. This trade represents a 0.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ECL. UBS Group cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.60.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of ECL opened at $247.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $200.50 and a 12 month high of $262.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $241.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.96. The firm has a market cap of $70.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.47%.

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.