Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 73.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,438 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,937 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $3,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ECL. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL traded up $1.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $252.72. 1,468,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,052,546. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The business's 50 day moving average price is $254.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

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.