Westpac Banking Corp Buys 9,400 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 96.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,159 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 9,400 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Ecolab were worth $4,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of Ecolab stock traded down $12.59 on Friday, reaching $237.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,594,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,760. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The business's 50-day moving average price is $256.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.15. 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 cap of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total value of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ECL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $289.33.

Ecolab 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.