Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ECL. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ecolab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Machiel Duijser sold 5,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.04, for a total transaction of $1,510,572.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,486.96. The trade was a 60.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last three months. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

ECL stock opened at $250.79 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.05 and a 12-month high of $273.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $254.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.03.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s payout ratio is 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.