Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,174 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 4,757 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $16,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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Ecolab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL traded up $1.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $252.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,468,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,553. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $254.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.10. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The firm 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.

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.