Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 482,136 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,448 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.17% of Ecolab worth $112,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ecolab by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,149,744 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,658,768,000 after buying an additional 105,289 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ecolab by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,273,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,231,873,000 after acquiring an additional 91,475 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Ecolab by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,995,817 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $936,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,478 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Ecolab by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $733,201,000 after buying an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,993,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $701,438,000 after acquiring an additional 165,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ECL. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $282.47.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.0 %

Ecolab stock traded up $2.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $255.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,099,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,157,322. The stock's fifty day moving average is $249.02 and its 200 day moving average is $247.90. 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 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $264.51 per share, with a total value of $105,804.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This trade represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. This trade represents a 17.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.