Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Holdings Raised by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.3 %

ECL stock opened at $263.94 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $245.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $247.97. The company has a market capitalization of $74.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $268.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.00.

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.