Boston Family Office LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Boston Family Office LLC lessened its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 98,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,510 shares during the quarter. Ecolab makes up 1.6% of Boston Family Office LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Boston Family Office LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $23,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $289.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was 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 worth $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of ECL traded down $12.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $237.65. 2,594,535 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,133,760. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.15. The firm has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Ecolab Company Profile

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.