Ecofi Investissements SA Has $9.54 Million Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Ecofi Investissements SA lowered its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,950 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,050 shares during the period. Ecolab comprises 5.9% of Ecofi Investissements SA's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Ecofi Investissements SA's holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $239.00. 384,454 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,147. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $218.19 and a one year high of $273.69. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $251.51 and its 200 day moving average is $248.28.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ECL shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.