Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.57% of Ecolab worth $381,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $1,317,811,000 after acquiring an additional 68,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 0.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,558,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $608,851,000 after purchasing an additional 122,715 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,403,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $358,250,000 after buying an additional 8,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,372,379 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $326,626,000 after buying an additional 24,648 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $276.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.60.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ECL
Ecolab Stock Down 0.3 %
Shares of ECL traded down $0.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $231.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,244,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,027,790. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.46 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $65.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.01.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Ecolab's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ecolab Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th 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 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.47%.
Insider Transactions at Ecolab
In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 65,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.80, for a total value of $15,850,657.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,388,741 shares in the company, valued at $7,408,775,055.80. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.
Ecolab Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Before you consider Ecolab, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Ecolab wasn't on the list.
While Ecolab currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Click the link below to learn more about how your portfolio could bloom.
Get This Free Report
