Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Has $343,000 Stock Position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lowered its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 69.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,388 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $343,000 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 212.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This trade represents a 40.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL opened at $251.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $254.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.04. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.05 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, 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.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.23%.

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.