Natural Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 9,805 Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,297,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Ecolab by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $265.54 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $250.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The company has a market cap of $75.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Equities analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on ECL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lifted 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. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised Ecolab to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab 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.