WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $830,000.
Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after purchasing an additional 105,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,317,811,000 after buying an additional 68,043 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $586,309,000 after buying an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,441,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $337,770,000 after acquiring an additional 38,402 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Redburn Atlantic cut 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 lifted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ECL
Ecolab Stock Performance
Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $1.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $252.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 526,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,357,258. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $71.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business's fifty day moving average price is $256.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.26.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 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, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.
Insider Transactions at Ecolab
In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Ecolab Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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