Boston Common Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 37.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,611 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 33,977 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $13,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $188,578,000 after buying an additional 735,934 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $188,317,000 after acquiring an additional 591,040 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ecolab by 580.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $72,248,000 after acquiring an additional 258,971 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 750.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,519,000 after acquiring an additional 143,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,380,000 after purchasing an additional 129,738 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $1.52 on Friday, hitting $237.63. 2,312,522 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 953,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $195.49 and a 1-year high of $262.61. The company has a market capitalization of $67.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50-day moving average is $241.96 and its 200 day moving average is $245.48.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.05% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ECL. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.