GS Investments Inc. Reduces Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

GS Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 431 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises about 1.6% of GS Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in 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 period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 60.25 % 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE ECL opened at $254.25 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.03. The stock has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG 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 $273.69. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 35.23%.

About Ecolab

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.