Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 677,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 82,681 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.24% of Ecolab worth $158,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after acquiring an additional 105,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,317,811,000 after purchasing an additional 68,043 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $936,300,000 after buying an additional 304,478 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Ecolab by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $586,309,000 after buying an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $521,399,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $289.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $12.59 on Friday, hitting $237.65. 2,594,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,135,019. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $256.93 and a 200-day moving average of $250.15. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.