DnB Asset Management AS Boosts Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 53.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,223 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 26,765 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Ecolab were worth $18,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of 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 shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $253.40. 360,116 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,121,690. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $256.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.05 and a 12 month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Ecolab 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.