Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Position Increased by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Ecolab were worth $9,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 797.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Ecolab by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $381,552,000 after buying an additional 129,635 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. increased its position in Ecolab by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Ecolab by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 37,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,669,000 after acquiring an additional 2,772 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $255.02 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.05 and a 1 year high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $72.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $251.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.94.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (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, analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Argus raised shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

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

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.