Trillium Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Trillium Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,756 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,516 shares during the quarter. Ecolab comprises approximately 1.3% of Trillium Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned 0.07% of Ecolab worth $49,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,181,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,317,811,000 after acquiring an additional 68,043 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,842,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $981,007,000 after acquiring an additional 35,027 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,441,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $337,770,000 after acquiring an additional 38,402 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Ecolab Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $250.79. 3,033,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,050,875. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $254.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.04.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 trade 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 that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus upgraded Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

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.