Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,197,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 320,433 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $749,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL opened at $253.64 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $256.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $71.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given 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 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ECL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.88.

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.