Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2,866.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,984 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 16,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,249,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 28.3% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Ecolab by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,679,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 106,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,216,000 after acquiring an additional 3,151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL stock opened at $249.29 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.18. The company has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month 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 anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.