Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Has $201,000 Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 857 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $268.64 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $247.25 and its 200-day moving average is $248.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.02 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $270.57.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

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.