Thematics Asset Management Reduces Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Thematics Asset Management reduced its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,237 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 35,000 shares during the period. Ecolab makes up about 1.5% of Thematics Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Thematics Asset Management owned 0.05% of Ecolab worth $35,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC raised 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 276.3% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 9,462 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,830,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Ecolab by 797.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in Ecolab by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 56,276 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,368,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $277.00 target price on Ecolab in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.94 during trading on Thursday, reaching $239.89. 1,030,516 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,149,653. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.19 and a 52-week high of $273.69. The stock has a market cap of $68.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $251.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This 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 at the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.