Ostrum Asset Management Cuts Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Ostrum Asset Management trimmed its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,074 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,236 shares during the quarter. Ostrum Asset Management's holdings in Ecolab were worth $5,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 98.6% during the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $179,749,000 after buying an additional 516,970 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,564,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,422,624 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $333,349,000 after acquiring an additional 333,049 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $238.08. The company had a trading volume of 895,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,352. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $248.21. The stock has a market cap of $67.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a PEG 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 12-month low of $218.25 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ECL. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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 upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.33.

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.