Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 33,362 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 456,120 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,362 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Ecolab worth $106,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th 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 period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of ECL traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $235.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 299,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,143,149. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $254.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ECL has been the topic of several research reports. 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, March 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 target price on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.00.

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.