Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 4,591 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 381,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,591 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $89,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 62.0% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $265.74 on Friday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.94 and a 52-week high of $267.56. The stock has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $242.33 and its 200 day moving average is $246.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ecolab from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on Ecolab from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 106,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.21, for a total value of $25,698,995.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,348,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,079,209,816.61. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 260,415 shares of company stock valued at $63,544,899 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.