Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Bought by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 235,470 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,355 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of Ecolab worth $55,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ECL stock traded down $2.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.11. 264,648 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,118,974. The stock has a market cap of $70.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.18. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ECL shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

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.