TT International Asset Management LTD Sells 2,255 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

TT International Asset Management LTD lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 37.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,697 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,255 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD's holdings in Ecolab were worth $943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ecolab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $245.37. The company had a trading volume of 270,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,083,503. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $192.37 and a one year high of $262.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $250.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.70. The stock has a market cap of $69.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $306.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ecolab from $260.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $279.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Victoria Reich sold 393 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,250. This represents a 1.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 70,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total value of $17,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,176,511,348.95. The trade was a 0.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 834,959 shares of company stock valued at $205,323,667 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.