Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Horizon Investments LLC

Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,262,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Ecolab by 797.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 17,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,550,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,627,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,552,000 after acquiring an additional 129,635 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Trading Up 0.2 %

ECL stock opened at $254.25 on Thursday. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.05 and a 52 week high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $71.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ECL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

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.