OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,042 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 4,163 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises approximately 1.0% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd owned about 0.05% of Ecolab worth $33,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ECL. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 131.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 180,880 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $46,184,000 after purchasing an additional 102,687 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,474 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 56,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Ecolab Stock Performance
NYSE ECL traded down $1.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $250.79. 3,033,277 shares of the company's stock traded hands, 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 PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $254.48 and a 200-day moving average of $250.04.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.
Ecolab Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.00.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Ecolab
Insider Activity
In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company'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 value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.
Ecolab 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.
Read More
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
Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.
Get This Free Report
