Insider Selling: Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) EVP Sells 10,858 Shares of Stock

Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $269.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,464,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,260,792. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $247.25 and a 200-day moving average of $248.76. The firm has a market cap of $76.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.51, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecolab

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Ecolab by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 18,876 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,820,000 after buying an additional 8,068 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 2.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 82,021 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the third quarter worth about $282,000. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.2% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,915 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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. Three 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

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.