Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) is Mirova US LLC's 5th Largest Position

Mirova US LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,916,391 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 71,305 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises 5.4% of Mirova US LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Mirova US LLC owned approximately 0.68% of Ecolab worth $449,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the third quarter worth $26,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management grew its stake 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 buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded down $1.15 on Friday, hitting $250.79. 3,033,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,050,893. The firm's 50-day moving average is $254.48 and its 200 day moving average is $250.03. The company has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.