Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,297 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Ecolab by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 1.9% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 56,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,529,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,441,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Ecolab by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 132,757 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,897,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ECL. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.
Get Our Latest Research Report on ECL
Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab
In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,486.96. This trade represents a 60.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David Maclennan acquired 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. The trade was a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Ecolab Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.72 on Monday, hitting $252.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,468,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,553. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $254.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.06. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.
Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.
Ecolab Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.
About Ecolab
(
Free Report)
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.
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