Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Decreases Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. reduced its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,140 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 13,453 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $21,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ECL. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 796,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $203,285,000 after acquiring an additional 69,142 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ecolab by 276.3% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 9,462 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,830,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Ecolab by 797.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in Ecolab by 0.6% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 56,276 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,368,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.1 %

Ecolab stock traded up $2.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $238.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,409,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,721. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.27 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.56. The stock has a market cap of $67.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.