Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Holdings Decreased by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 273 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,317,811,000 after buying an additional 68,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $981,007,000 after purchasing an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Ecolab by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $358,250,000 after purchasing an additional 8,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its stake in Ecolab by 1.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,168,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $295,661,000 after purchasing an additional 13,654 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $264.47 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $268.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.66.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

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.