Xponance Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,438 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 6,937 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Ecolab during the 4th quarter worth about $8,800,000. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ecolab by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ecolab by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,287 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haven Capital Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,970,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

NYSE ECL traded down $1.15 on Friday, hitting $250.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,033,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,875. The company has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day moving average price is $254.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.04. 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 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69.

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Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. As a group, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.