Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Corebridge Financial Inc.

Corebridge Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 66,675 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,849 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $15,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after buying an additional 105,289 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $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 increased its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% in the third 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 valued at $981,007,000 after buying an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 83,328 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted 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 worth $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value 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 trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Ecolab Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ECL traded down $2.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.11. 264,648 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,118,974. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.18. The stock has a market cap of $70.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month 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.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 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.