Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 16,371 Shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its position in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 38,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,371 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 74.91% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $258.96 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.59. The firm has a market cap of $73.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.47.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

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 transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Ecolab 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.