Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,452 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,739 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.08% of Ecolab worth $54,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $251.30. 1,106,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,569. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a one year low of $217.05 and a one year high of $273.69. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $254.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.10.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

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.