Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,216 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $25,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ecolab by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 902 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ecolab by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 298 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Ecolab by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 870 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ECL shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Five investment 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.com, Ecolab presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.33.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,465 shares in the company, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ecolab Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ECL stock opened at $268.29 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $264.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.03. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $274.17.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 22.53%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Ecolab's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 17th. Ecolab's payout ratio is currently 35.33%.

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.

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