Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,578 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Ecolab were worth $26,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,658,768,000 after purchasing an additional 105,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,231,873,000 after purchasing an additional 91,475 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $936,300,000 after buying an additional 304,478 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $701,438,000 after buying an additional 165,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,499,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $586,309,000 after acquiring an additional 83,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ECL traded down $1.59 on Friday, reaching $238.08. The stock had a trading volume of 899,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,583. The company has a 50-day moving average of $250.45 and a 200 day moving average of $248.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $67.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ECL. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.33.

About Ecolab

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.