Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,682 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of Ecolab worth $40,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ECL. Haven Capital Group Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at $3,970,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Ecolab by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,927 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 295.5% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 136,731 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,039,000 after buying an additional 102,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of 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 equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

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Ecolab Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ECL stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $252.72. 1,468,589 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,052,546. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The stock's 50 day moving average is $254.48 and its 200-day moving average is $250.06. 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 company has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.