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

Janus Henderson Group PLC cut its stake in shares of Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 30.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 16,371 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in Ecolab were worth $8,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Corundum Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ecolab by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 7,548 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ecolab by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Ecolab by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ecolab in the fourth quarter valued at about $795,000. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecolab Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of ECL stock traded down $1.59 on Wednesday, hitting $260.79. 1,200,034 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,165,185. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $246.51 and a 200 day moving average of $247.82. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $220.96 and a fifty-two week high of $273.69.

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

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ecolab's payout ratio is presently 35.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ECL. Barclays decreased their target price on Ecolab from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus raised Ecolab to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Ecolab from $302.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Maclennan bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, for a total transaction of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,900,313.75. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total value of $228,868.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.