Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 42.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 14,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,296,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Forbes J M & Co. LLP boosted its position in Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 32,166 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,537,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,195 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 221,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,875,000 after buying an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:ECL traded up $1.19 on Thursday, reaching $267.43. 924,964 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,241,493. The company has a market capitalization of $75.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.24, a PEG ratio of 2.56 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 12 month low of $215.41 and a 12 month high of $268.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $244.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.19.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.95, for a total transaction of $17,216,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,178,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 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.