Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Acquired by Chicago Capital LLC

Chicago Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,659 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,456 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $2,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nadler Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners increased its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,430 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Ecolab by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 6,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 23,212 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ecolab by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,228 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ECL traded down $0.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $248.90. The company had a trading volume of 243,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,771. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.14. Ecolab Inc. has a twelve month low of $200.50 and a twelve month high of $262.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $241.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.93.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Ecolab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ECL shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.60.

Insider Transactions at Ecolab

In related news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 83,873 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.96, for a total value of $20,629,403.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,534,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,264,396,133.28. This represents a 0.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 360,415 shares of company stock worth $88,350,899 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.