Generali Investments Management Co LLC Acquires Shares of 3,702 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,702 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $867,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $997,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Ecolab by 131.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 180,880 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $46,184,000 after purchasing an additional 102,687 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,474 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 56,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 over the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

Ecolab stock traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $250.79. 3,033,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,050,875. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.05 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The business's 50-day moving average price is $254.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.04.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

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.