Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 105,289 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.53% of Ecolab worth $5,658,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $3.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $249.29. The company had a trading volume of 775,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,122,159. The stock has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, 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. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $256.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.18.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.