Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Holdings Boosted by HB Wealth Management LLC

HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECLFree Report) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 27,950.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 738,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,578,000 after buying an additional 735,934 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 295.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 791,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,317,000 after acquiring an additional 591,040 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Ecolab by 580.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 303,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,248,000 after purchasing an additional 258,971 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Ecolab by 750.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 162,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,519,000 after purchasing an additional 143,497 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Ecolab by 64.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 330,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,380,000 after purchasing an additional 129,738 shares during the period. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Ecolab stock opened at $237.63 on Tuesday. Ecolab Inc. has a 12-month low of $195.49 and a 12-month high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $241.96 and its 200-day moving average is $245.62.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECLGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab’s payout ratio is presently 36.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 409,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $101,023,861.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,776,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,313,132.56. The trade was a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 834,566 shares of company stock valued at $205,225,417 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.47.

View Our Latest Report on ECL

Ecolab Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Ecolab (NYSE:ECL)

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