Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Stock Position Cut by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,586 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $12,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ECL. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Ecolab by 206.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $179,749,000 after buying an additional 516,970 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $80,564,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,073,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecolab in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,204,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Ecolab by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 839,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $196,727,000 after buying an additional 136,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total value of $2,898,543.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,202,860.80. This represents a 40.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This represents a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock worth $4,637,985. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of ECL opened at $250.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.05 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $254.48 and its 200-day moving average is $250.03.

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

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 35.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

About Ecolab

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.