Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,948 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,209 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $7,721,000 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 the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter worth $521,399,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ecolab by 98.6% during the fourth quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $334,394,000 after buying an additional 708,432 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 206.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 767,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $179,749,000 after acquiring an additional 516,970 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Ecolab by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,129,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $733,201,000 after acquiring an additional 514,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,564,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ECL traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $265.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,497,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,549. The company has a market capitalization of $75.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Ecolab Inc. has a 1-year low of $220.96 and a 1-year high of $273.69. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $248.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.65.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 13.42%. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's payout ratio is 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ECL shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Ecolab from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Redburn Atlantic cut Ecolab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Ecolab from $307.00 to $303.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ecolab currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.13.

Insider Activity

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan acquired 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Company 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.