Truist Financial Corp Raises Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 416,107 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 15,809 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.15% of Ecolab worth $97,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ecolab by 1.3% in 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 boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 35,027 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position 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 valued at $381,552,000 after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $358,250,000 after purchasing an additional 8,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,168,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $295,661,000 after purchasing an additional 13,654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ECL stock traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $267.43. The company had a trading volume of 936,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,839. Ecolab Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.41 and a 12 month high of $268.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.19. The company has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.14.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, research analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.33.

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.