Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Dillon & Associates Inc.

Dillon & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 48,655 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,473 shares during the period. Ecolab accounts for approximately 1.6% of Dillon & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Dillon & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $11,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,658,768,000 after purchasing an additional 105,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,317,811,000 after buying an additional 68,043 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $981,007,000 after buying an additional 35,027 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Ecolab by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $586,309,000 after buying an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, 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 transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

Ecolab Stock Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $3.39 on Friday, hitting $249.29. The stock had a trading volume of 775,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,122,159. The company's 50-day moving average is $256.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.18. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.